Heywood Provisions is flying high these days.
Literally.
The small further-processing enterprise tucked into an industrial park in urban Atlanta has grown exponentially since Patrick Gebrayel first opened for business in 2011.
After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, Gebrayel worked under legendary French Chef Jean-Louis Palladin in Washington, D.C., and then moved to Atlanta. Frustrated by the lower quality sausages he was working with at an Atlanta-area country club, he set out to create a business specializing in unique, high-quality meat and value-added products while supporting local livestock farmers.
Unwavering in that commitment over the past 15 years, Gebrayel steadily built the business into a strong processing, distribution, and marketing enterprise. Along the way, he enticed Ross Linder to leave a comfortable job in finance and join him as president and CEO and partner in the growing business. The two of them now oversee an enterprise that sells products on multiple channels in several states without compromising on quality or reducing their support for local growers. supporting local
During a recent tour provided for Flower Hill Institute Regional Director Dave Carter, Gebrayel pointed to one rack of curing meat. “This is beef coppa,” he said. “It comes from the eye of round that sells for about $6 per pound raw. As coppa, it sells for about $40 per pound. Think what that means for the person raising that animal.”
A quarter of Heywood Provisions’ revenue today comes from a retail store that they operate in Marietta, GA, just outside of Atlanta. Roughly 45% of the company’s wholesaling revenue is earned from selling their branded products to other outlets, and another 30% comes from co-packing arrangements with local growers. The remaining 25% of the company’s wholesale products end up in the galleys of British Airways, Delta Airlines, United Airlines, and other operators flying out of Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport.
As their reputation brought new business to their doorstep, Patrick and Ross outgrew their original location and last year secured the larger facility where they currently operate. Part of their growth was supported by a loan from CSRA Business Lending in Georgia, funded by USDA’s Meat and Poultry Intermediate Lending Program (MPILP).
Randy Griffin, president of CSRA Business Lending noted, “Heywood has positioned themselves as an elite supplier of quality, further processed products in this region. Their ability to diversify their business is remarkable, and the value they provide to local farmers is significant. It’s exactly the type of business that the MPILP program was intended to help.”
With consumers across the region as well as those jetting over the Atlantic Ocean enjoying Heywood Provisions products, Gebrayel’s dream has proven to be no flight of fancy.
