B.R. sandwich company sold, closed

Southern Belle Sandwich Company has shut down its Baton Rouge operations and sold the business to an Illinois company, a move that puts about 100 employees out of work. The move comes a few weeks after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and federal marshals raided the plant on North Lobdell Avenue and seized thousands of tuna salad sandwiches, citing unsanitary conditions. Greg Beuerman, a spokesman for Southern Belle, says the FDA action was “indirectly” responsible for the sale to Landshire Inc. “Recent issues regarding our Baton Rouge plant encouraged us to review our business model and presented us with options for moving forward, which included Landshire’s offer to integrate our business into theirs,” says Ricky Bearden, Southern Belle’s vice president. Southern Belle distributed sandwiches to convenience and retail stores in southern Louisiana; Mobile and Montgomery, Ala.; and Crestview, Fla. Details of the sale were not disclosed. Bearden had disputed FDA charges of rodent and insect infestation, saying the agency seized the sandwiches because of a failure by the company to submit paperwork on food safety standards in a timely manner. Bearden noted that during its 47 years of operation, Southern Belle had never logged a customer complaint or return for health or quality control reasons. The company plans to focus on local operations, selling party trays of sandwiches. Details of that business will be announced later, Bearden says.—Timothy Boone