PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Port St. Lucie has long been a bedroom community, full of commuters.
But now with 240,000 people, the city has been actively focused on creating a jobs corridor so people can work closer to home.
Amazon and FedEx — names known across the world — both have facilities in the Southern Grove area of Port St. Lucie. A Costco warehouse will soon follow after an announcement earlier this month.
Now, a local powerhouse in the food service industry is joining them.
"We feel it's going to be growing significantly over the next 10 years," Cheney Brothers CEO Byron Russell said.
Cheney Brothers opened its new location Tuesday just north of Becker Road.
Under four generations of family leadership, the company will mark 100 years in business in 2025.
Russell knew they had to expand, but it was cost-prohibitive to go south from Palm Beach County.
"Real estate was reasonable up here in Port St. Lucie," Russell said. "We found a good site right on I-95 that completed our Riviera facility."
Florida's Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis was on hand at the dedication.
About 270 people are currently employed at the facility and more people are coming on board each week. When all is said and done, about 700-800 new jobs will be created from the facility.
It's the latest crown jewel in the city's jobs corridor, which kicked off back in 2020 just before the pandemic when TAMCO Group opened its manufacturing hub.
"Our residents can live here in Port St. Lucie and work here in Port St. Lucie," City Councilman David Pickett said. "I spent 15 years driving back and forth to West Palm Beach."
It cost tens of millions of dollars to construct the new Cheney Bothers facility, which was built to withstand a Category 5 storm.
Russell said the building is capable of a billion dollars in annual sales.
"We can't afford to be down at any time," Russell said. "We never close."