SMITHFIELD, Va. — The town of Smithfield, long synonymous with Virginia hams, has a new downtown dining destination, Taste of Smithfield. The restaurant shares its new building at 217 Main St. with Smithfield's retail store, The Genuine Smithfield Ham Shoppe, previously located across the street at 224 Main St.
A grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 10, at its two-story, 8,700-square-foot building.
Taste of Smithfield features Smithfield pork products, including Smithfield Innovation Kitchen Specials and Windsor Castle Box Lunches. There is also a "grab-and-go" case with salads, sandwiches and desserts.
"We're very excited about our new venture because we think it will help attract more visitors to our historic town, along with giving us a showplace for our products," said C. Larry Pope, Smithfield's president and chief executive officer.
"We've had a long and pleasant association with the town of Smithfield, dating back to when our company was founded in 1936, and we're delighted that our new building blends in so well with the many attractive neighboring stores along Main Street," Pope said.
Pete Booker, vice president and general manager of the Smithfield Specialty Foods Group, will oversee this new joint venture combining Retail and Restaurant operations. Margaret Carroll has been named to manage Taste of Smithfield restaurant.
"Our Taste of Smithfield Restaurant is a rousing tasting of the pig, featuring quality food items for everybody, from meaty sandwiches to ribs to burgers, and we're also offering 'For the Little Piglets' selections for children," Booker said.
"We anticipate that we will be changing our menu often to reflect new and innovative creations from our chefs," Booker added. "We even have some menu items for our vegetarian friends."
With increased space in the new building, The Genuine Smithfield Ham Shoppe will offer a larger selection of products, including Smithfield Specialty-branded pork products, as well as other gourmet Specialty food brands such as Stonewall Kitchen, Rothschild Farms, Vosges Haut-Chocolat, and The Peanut Shop of Smithfield Gourmet Virginia Peanuts and Nuts.
About Smithfield Foods
Smithfield Foods is a $13 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories with popular brands including Farmland(R), Smithfield(R), Eckrich(R), Armour(R) and John Morrell(R). Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental, and food safety and quality programs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com and www.smithfieldcommitments.com
Source: Smithfield Foods, Inc.
