b'history of food processing, this helps your community andZorn says an additional food manufacturer is in the pipeline, gives you a target market and others follow. with an official announcement expected later this year. The company plans to create about 200 jobs within two to three And they keep coming, including a Walmart case-readyyears.facility that is part of the companys Angus beef supply chain. The 201,000-square-foot facility, operated by FPLEntrepreneurial Foodiesfoods, started with 200 employees and has jumped to 400Smaller food entrepreneurs, like Sweet Grass Dairy and since its opening in early 2020.Grassroots Coffee, are also part of Thomasvilles diverse food industry mix. CONTRIBUTED Flowers Foods set the pace. When you have a 100-year history of food processing, this helps your community and gives you a target market and others follow.- SHELLEY ZORNStarting as a dairy farming operation in 1993, Al and Desiree Wehner switched their farming method to an intensive grazing management style. Described as a better way to farm, where cows could be cows as natured intended.After making cheese out of their family kitchen, Sweet Grass Dairy was started in 2000. A few years later, the Wehners daughter and son-in-law, Jessica and Jeremy Little, joined the family business. The Littles purchased the cheesemaking part of the business five years later.To showcase their line of handcrafted cheese, the entrepreneurial couple opened Sweet Grass Dairy Cheese Shop in the heart of Downtown Thomasville. The trendy caf features a menu centered around Sweet Grass Dairys national and international award-winning cheese, plus sandwiches, salads, and homemade desserts. 22 SG MAGAZINE| WINTER 2022 BUSINESS + CULTURE23'