Peanut Depot
The Peanut Depot is a roaster and wholesaler of peanuts located at 1539 3rd Avenue South in Birmingham. The company's products include raw, boiled or roasted peanuts, either plain, salted or Cajun-spiced. Their peanuts are sold at numerous sports arenas, including Cowboys stadium in Texas and the New Orleans Superdome, as well as Regions Field in Birmingham. Their packaged peanuts are also sold at retail outlets and bagged up fresh from the roaster at the plant.
The business was founded by D. J. Cassimus, at 2006 Morris Avenue in 1907 as Terminal Candy Kitchen, so named because of its proximity to the L&N Station railroad terminal at the corner of Morris Avenue and 20th Street North. He changed the name in 1924 after getting out of the candy business. He also opened other peanut shops around Birmingham. In 1951 his son Alex Cassimus moved the business a block over to 2016 Morris Avenue, in the former Caldwell Printing Works building. In 1983, Tim Petro bought the business and invested in upgrades. He acquired a Fairfield peanut roasting business operated by nuns and added automated equipment to allow him to offer packaged salted and spiced peanuts through retailers. For the first time, Peanut Depot products were available for sale at local and national grocery store chains.
Petro sold the business in 1999 to Larry and Carolyn Shotts, natives of Hamilton. Since 2006, the business has been owned by Lex Legate of Hoover.
Until the 1980s the company used the same three roasting machines made by the Bartholomew Company of Peoria, Illinois, each capable of roasting about 25 pounds of peanuts in 40 minutes. Petro added a fourth during his tenure. In November 2008 the Peanut Depot took delivery of a reconditioned 1917 Royal No. 5 peanut roaster to expand its capacity.
In 2011 Felicia Jackson began working a few hours a week as a "modelquin", dressed in a peanut costume of her own design and standing outside the store to draw attention.
On March 1, 2016 the Peanut Depot began operating from a temporary location down the block from its new location in Birmingham's Parkside district, which it shared with another of Legate's businesses. It finalized the move in mid-summer, installing new roasters. The Depot's original antique roasters remained the property of John Cassimus who owns the Morris Avenue building. Cassimus continued to use the old equipment in a new business known as the "Peanut Place" until leasing the roasters and space to the Alabama Peanut Co. in 2018.
References
- "Peanut Depot has ownership change." (October 1, 1999) Birmingham Business Journal
- Kent, Dawn (March 16, 2011) "Peanut-costumed woman in Birmingham starting modeling-advertising business." The Birmingham News
- Poe, Kelly (February 29, 2016) "Peanut Depot opening on Third Avenue South Tuesday." The Birmingham News
- Van der Bijl, Hanno (May 2, 2018) "New peanut shop moves into iconic Morris Avenue space." Birmingham Business Journal
- Robertson, Terri (May 4, 2018) "Alabama Peanut Co. leases historic Morris Avenue location." BhamNow
- Carlton, Bob (March 6, 2019) "Keeping an Alabama peanut tradition alive, 111 years later." The Birmingham News
External links
- Peanut Depot website
- Peanut Depot photos in the Magic City Flickr Group