“This is a warehouse for Byron Seeds,” warehouse manager Bruce Hostetler said when we caught up with him at the old Gordy’s building on South Broadway this past Monday. Based out of Indiana and owned by Samuel Fisher, wholesale ag distributor Byron Seeds LLC plans to use the former Gordy’s Market building as a warehouse to better service distributors in Minnesota as well as those in Wisconsin “west of 39,” according to Hostetler. The Indiana based company currently has warehouses in Rockville, Indiana as well as Shipshewana to the west of South Bend, and the new warehouse location is based in part on how far semis can travel in a day. Among the adaptations to the building from its former use as a grocery store was raising the interior lights. Formerly, they sat were below the ductwork. Now, the lights sit several feet higher, allowing for more storage space to stack giant seed packet pallets. A loading dock to the back also has a sign welcoming semis to the new warehouse location. Vacant no more, the big box on South Broadway is storing up new stock, just in time for the planting season. More information is available down at the company website byronseeds. net, including a dealer locator. Just enter the zip code.

Photos by Joseph Back.