The Anderson-DuBose Co. will begin operations Sept. 1 in its cold and dry foods storage facility in Northwest Jacksonville, the distribution company’s founder and CEO said Aug. 21.
Speaking at the JAXUSA Partnership Summer Luncheon, Warren Anderson said he was attracted to Jacksonville by the quality of its labor force, proximity to highways and rail lines, and growing population.
“And the city wanted us here,” he said. “We felt very welcomed.”
In March 2024, the Jacksonville City Council approved a $1.5 million incentive for Anderson-DuBose to expand to Jacksonville in a 120,000-square-foot facility on about 40 acres in Westlake Industrial Park. The subsequent plans indicated a larger project.
The company, code-named Project Bobcat in city documents, said it would create at least 85 jobs but expected 109 by the end of 2028. The annual payroll is anticipated at more than $5.5 million, which averages to about $50,500 per job.
A city Office of Economic Development summary of the project listed a completion date no later than December 2026 for the new facility.
The city issued permits for construction of 153,136-square-foot and 9,502-square-foot buildings on 33 acres at 4125 Cisco Drive W. at a combined $39 million.
It also issued permits for accessory buildings.
As of April 2025, the city listed the total site improvement cost at $52.38 million.
Ohio-based Anderson-DuBose began in 1991 when the company bought a McDonald’s distribution center in Cleveland, according to its website.
It now distributes food and paper items to McDonald’s and Chipotle Mexican Grill locations.
Anderson’s remarks came after Aundra Wallace, president of the JAX Chamber JAXUSA economic development division, announced that distributor Sysco International Food Group Inc. was the code-named Project Moana that received $2.5 million in incentives to expand its operations to Westlake Industrial Park.
In an onstage conversation with Wallace, Anderson said his company “is like Sysco, but we are way better.”
“I’m glad that we’re here, because we’re going to show you how a real distributor should work,” he said, drawing laughter from the crowd of 400 at the Florida Blue Conference Center.
Anderson said Anderson-DuBose’s two current facilities are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation by McDonald’s in a rating system that includes delivery time, order fulfillment and other metrics.