New jobs are coming to the state with the expansion of Southern Coffee Services in Lexington. The project is a $2-million corporate investment and will create 55 jobs.
“Southern Coffee Services is a homegrown Mississippi company that takes pride in its products, its community and providing job opportunities for the residents of Holmes County,” said Governor Phil Bryant. “I commend the Southern Coffee team for strengthening its roots in Lexington and look forward to the company’s continued success in our state.”
Southern Coffee Services is expanding into a facility in Holmes County that will enable future growth, as well as the development and training of its workforce. The new location will serve as the company’s roasting and distribution center. Southern Coffee Services’ original facility has been converted to its online roastery, which packs ground coffee and single-serve cups for website and grocery sales.
“We are honored to serve the people of Lexington and Holmes County,” said Chuck Lovorn, CEO of Southern Coffee Services. “Serving Y’all’ is a foundational tenet of Southern Coffee Service. This tenet drives us to develop sustainable businesses focused on restoring and strengthening the local communities in which we serve. Establishing a world-class coffee roaster seated in the heart of Holmes County is a great and sustainable business model that will provide jobs and opportunities for generations. We want this to be a place where people can thrive and careers can begin.”
Lovorn went on to say that they are training and hiring for supply chain, production, distribution, customer service, marketing, accounting, service, sales at this point which is why they are working to local agencies to help individuals develop the skills necessary for the job.
“With the launch of our home delivery service, we give people all over the United States the ability to participate in what we are doing here in our local community of Lexington,” said Lovorn. “People are able to support our efforts to develop a future for Holmes County by having coffee delivered right to their front door. We are always looking for ways to allow others to engage in what we are doing and spread our ‘Serving Y’all’ philosophy.”
The Mississippi Development Authority is providing assistance for building improvements. The city of Lexington is providing assistance for a public access road.
“Mississippi is a state brimming with an entrepreneurial spirit, providing a supportive environment that enables Southern Coffee Services to fulfill its goals while creating quality careers for the people of Lexington and the surrounding communities,” said MDA Executive Director Glenn McCullough, Jr. “We are proud to support this Mississippi-made company as it expands in our state, and we salute the teamwork of Lexington Mayor Robin McCrory and the Lexington Board of Aldermen, which, along with MDA, was instrumental in bringing Southern Coffee Services’s expansion to fruition.”
Southern Coffee Services currently employs 14 workers in Lexington with plans to add 55 jobs over the next three years. The expansion is slated to be complete in January 2020.
