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,” he said.
Todd joined his father’s business in 1990 and ran the Williamsburg store for a couple of years, before starting full time in Gloucester. Thirty-one years later, in November 2021, his own son Brett joined the company. “He’s the future of the company,” said Todd. “Whenever the day comes that I want to retire, Brett hopefully will be able to take it and run with it for the next 40 years.”
Since Whitley’s doors opened, the business has grown right alongside the Gloucester community. In 1987 the company sent out its first order catalog, and a year later, the Williamsburg store opened. In 2016 the company expanded even further, opening a store in Richmond.
Throughout the years, fund-raising has played a big role in the company’s operations, raising money to help schools and organizations, like the Boy Scouts.
Brett attributed so much success as a small business to the employees at Whitley’s. “We have a lot of tenured employees, especially from the area—from the Point all the way to Mathews,” he said. “People have been working here for 5, 10, 20, 25 years—we’ve even had people go past 25 years, who have retired.”
“You’re only as good as your team. I think it speaks volumes that we have people that, honestly—I’ve been coming here my whole life and they were here when I would visit as a kid, and they’re still here,” said Brett.
Todd added that customer service and the support of the surrounding community has also played a huge role in the company’s success. “I think it’s so important to make sure your customers are taken care of—when they’re happy and when they’re not happy.”
“We’ll never lose sight of what got us here,” he said.
As the company continues to grow, it’s important to the team to always keep their core values in sight. “We want to adapt, not compromise on our core values,” Brett explained. “I think that’s important.”