This year, Whitley’s Peanut Factory will celebrate 40 years of business in Gloucester County. While the idea took root in the Smith family kitchen, Whitley’s has since become a cornerstone in the community. “My dad used to cook peanuts in—back then they were called Fry Daddies—but it was just a little tabletop French fry cooker,” said Todd Smith, owner and president of the company. “They were really good; we really liked them as a family.” In 1985, his father decided to open a retail business selling peanuts, along with his older brother Craig and other gentlemen. “We’ve always been in the peanut business, but it was a different side of the company,” Todd said. “He dealt with the farmers in the seed business, so he had been around the industry for quite a long time,” he said. When the business began, it operated out of a single building with one cooker and two additional employees, beyond his brother. That same building is the Whitley’s store along Route 17. “They did everything there,...