32 Reasons to do Business in Gonzales

Kitchen Pride: Made in Gonzales

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Kitchen Pride is Gonzales County’s very own home grown industry.

Literally.

The famous mushroom farm business has been thriving and growing since it first opened on County Road 348. It continues to prosper and thrive as one of Gonzales County’s elite industries, and serves as a testimonial to other businesses that they can survive and thrive in this area.

“We started growing our first mushroom here in 1988,” Kitchen Pride owner Greg McLain said. “We’re now in our 30th year, and we couldn’t have done it without the help of the people of the community and the people who helped us locate our business here.

“When we first started looking at this community, we were actually looking all over the state of Texas for a location for our mushroom operation. We looked everywhere from Texarkana to Cleveland to all different parts of Texas.

“But we wanted to serve Texas primarily, so we had to find a community that had a lot of the resources we needed. We found that here.”

According to McLain, his father had worked in the mushroom business in California, St. Louis, and Oklahoma to name but a few places. In the 1980s, his father Darrell McLain sold his interest in a mushroom business in Miami, Okla., and then started looking around the country to start a new mushroom business in a state that was being underserved. He settled on the state of Texas, but the location in the Lone Star State still had to be determined.

“When we started looking, we were asked by then-State Representative Phyllis Robinson to consider Gonzales,” McLain said. “We liked what we saw, as the area was agricultural-based and had an industrial site capability with natural gas, three-phase power and water.

“We were interested in the area, but ultimately it was the people who put us over the top in our decision-making process,” McLain continued. “The Gonzales Area Development Corporation (GADC) really wanted us to locate here. They had representatives from all the banks, real estate and pretty much everything we needed. The banks helped with the financing, the realtor helped with the property, and then the county asked the state for help and set up it’s first-ever revolving loan fund to help bring the company to fruition.

“Without the help of all of those people working on our behalf, I’m not sure we could have done it.”

Kitchen Pride has been a staple of the Gonzales economy for three decades now. The mushroom giant grows between 260,000 and 280,000 pounds of different mushrooms every week, and then ships its product to customers all over the state of Texas.

Seventy percent of the product is white button, with 29 percent being Creminis and Portobello mushrooms. The remainder is primarily Shiitake and Oyster.

Over 200 employees work at the growing facility east of Gonzales and service over 60 growing rooms at the farm. The rooms rotate over time, as compost is prepared and then the growing process begins. As growing rooms are harvested, other rooms start harvesting process while other rooms are cleaned up and sanitized. The cycle keeps repeating itself, but the demand for mushrooms continues to grow.

“We are experiencing a steady growth rate of three to four percent a year,” McLain said. “People are changing their lifestyles and eating habits, and mushrooms are a perfect fit in this changing culture and environment.

“We started with 18 growing rooms in 1988, doubled that in 1996, then expanded in 2002, 2006, and 2008. There are still hopes of expanding even more. Last year, we closed on additional 200-plus acres adjacent to us so we are in a good position to continue growing.”

McLain feels Gonzales is the perfect location for any business seeking to relocate in or to Texas.

“Look, we have a very supportive community, and that’s very important to any business to know that they are wanted,” McLain said. “We have lots of financial resources to help support and invest in a business, from banking to community, county and state investment. We are located close to lots of quality transportation, with I-10, 183 to 35, TxGn and the port of Houston.

“But most importantly, this is a great place to live. My wife Kris and I have lived here for 30 years and we are thrilled and happy to be here.”

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