Gordon Food Service, Wyoming, Mich., announced plans to open a new distribution center in Kannapolis, N.C. The foodservice distributor signed a long-term lease agreement for a 300,000-square-foot distribution center in Afton Ridge Business Park on Glen Afton Boulevard. Construction of the facility will begin later this fall and is scheduled to be complete in fall 2015. The facility is expected to employ approximately 275 people within the first five years of operation.

“We are excited to add the Kannapolis location to our distribution network,” says Jim Gordon, chief executive officer. “The addition of this facility increases our capacity to serve national concepts, Group Purchasing Organizations and independent foodservice customers in the Southeast region of the United States.”

Gordon Food Service currently operates 22 distribution centers in North America. The Kannapolis facility will be the company’s 16th distribution center in the United States. Two new distribution centers are under construction, including one near Pittsburgh, Pa., and another near Atlanta. Both are expected to be operational in 2015.