Ben E Keith Foods

Ben E. Keith West Texas was originally the Panhandle Fruit Company, founded by Gus Roberts in 1937. The company sold to Ben E. Keith Foods in 1968 and the name was officially changed to Ben E. Keith - Amarillo in 1984. Alvie Butler became General Manager in 1979, and the current GM, Jeff Yarber, assumed the position of General Manager in 1999 upon Alvie’s death. The Amarillo Division (Panhandle Fruit Co.) moved from its first location at 711 S. Grant to its location at 2100 Spruce St. in June 1971. The new building totaled 40,000 square feet. The Amarillo Branch completed its next expansion in 1994 increasing the size to about 61,000 square feet. On December 15, 2006, the Amarillo Branch moved into their new state-of-the-art facility totaling 307,704 square feet and expandable to just under one million square feet.