HISTORY
Six Senn family brothers started their business in the early 1940s. E.D. “Jake” and James Randolph Senn, along with their other four brothers, Carl, John, Woodrow and Ralph, started Senn Brothers Produce Company at the State Farmers Market on Assembly Street in Columbia, South Carolina. Originally begun as a small jobbing business, Senn Brothers quickly grew as a prominent “carlot and trucklot” produce receiver in Columbia, and continued its wholesale-only produce affiliation with the State Farmers Market when it moved to the Bluff Road location adjacent to the State Fairgrounds. The Senn brothers were active leaders in the Columbia Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Industry. Along with being President of Senn Brothers, Jake served on the Board of Directors and as a former President of the South Carolina Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association.
In 1989, the wholesale end of Senn Brothers was merged with Senn Brothers Distributors, started by Gregg Senn and Gary Prince, to create the current owner-directed company. As one of the oldest full-line distributors of quality fruits and vegetables based in central South Carolina, and with the largest expanded geographical distribution area, Senn Brothers today employs about 50 people, most of whom load the company’s fleet of refrigerated vans and run deliveries to customers six days a week. Despite the economic challenges of recent years, Senn Brothers has a bright future with its plans for relocation to the new State Farmers Market Lexington County site in 2010.
