In the late 1920's, William Roy Vernon would bring apples from his hometownin Carroll County, Virginia to North Carolina to sell to local produce stands. Demand for his services and product was soon strong enough to open his own produce stand in Winston-Salem. In 1931, he converted his home on the corner of Cherry and 7th Streets to W. R. Vernon Produce Co. He rented out rooms in the house to help pay for expenses. Soon, the business was large enough to include the Vernon children. W. R. Vernon and his wife Etta had four children (Arlis, Glen, Nina Mae, and Jesse Lee). The business was eventually moved across the street to a larger facility in the early 1940's. The need for refrigerated storage space became vital for growth. Business continued to grow through the 40's and 50's with incorporation coming in 1953. W. R. Vernon began to hire out transportation and rely on trains to deliver refrigerated boxcars of produce. Soon, limited storage and poor logistics forced Vernon to look for another location. Land was found 2 blocks away and construction began on a new 14,000 square foot building. The business was moved to its current location in 1965. The new facility was double the size of the former location. Dock space went from 2 trucks to 40 trucks capacity. Refrigerated space could handle 10 boxcar loads of produce (approx. 12,800 40# cartons of lettuce). There was also room for office spaces. Over the next 30 years, W. R. Vernon Produce Co., Inc. added on to its facility 4 times to bring total storage capacity to approx. 50,000 square feet. Also added was 12 banana ripening rooms, dock space for 20 more trucks, and the acquisition of another 25,000 square foot warehouse for tomato storage, ripening, and repacking (Vernon Packaging). All of the principle founders have passed on except Arlis Vernon who retired in 1995. The business is still family owned and run by 3rd and 4th generation descendents. We continue to offer a full line of fresh fruits and vegetables to retailers, other wholesalers, food service distributors and the general public.