Jarrett Foods Annexation Request Stalls at Lavonia P&Z Meeting

Jarrett Foods’ plans to annex their new plant into the Lavonia City limits has hit a snag.

At the Planning & Zoning Commission meeting this week, several spoke against the annexation because the company plans to eventually have some 300 employees.

That, plus the truck traffic in and out of the plant on the corner of Hwy 17 and Grady School Rd were the biggest concerns.

The County has already approved the plant which is on property zoned light industrial and the City of Lavonia is providing water and sewer.

At the meeting this week, a motion was made to approve the annexation request but it died for lack of a second.

Ultimately, it will be up to the Lavonia City Council to decide whether to annex the plant when they meet for their November meeting next Monday.

Jarrett Foods is a custom poultry processing plant operation that does not kill birds but receives the birds from larger poultry producers according to company president Terry Willis.

According to a press release issued by the Franklin Co Industrial Building Authority, the renovations along with new additions to the existing 44,853 sq. ft. facility will begin immediately.

Willis said they chose the building at the corner of Grady School Road and Highway 17 because of its central location.

Willis tells WLHR News the projected completion and grand opening of the new 53,972 facility is expected to be at the end of the first quarter of 2024.

According to the IBA, Jarrett Foods will be led by an executive team with over 75 years of experience specific to the poultry processing industry.

Jarrett Foods will initially invest $14 million dollars and bring 70 immediate jobs with approximately 300 jobs by March of 2025.