Like all great stories of legacy, it starts with a person and a vision. In the case of Westlake Produce Co., it began with two: Joe Sims and Bill Brooks Sr., in 1962. The integrity with which Westlake operates today can be traced back to the early Brooks and Sims philosophies.
By
June 2, 2021
Harland Heath, who had a long produce career on both the buy and sell sides of the industry and co-founded Heath & Lejeune 40 years ago, died in late May after a battle with cancer. He was involved in the Fresh Produce & Floral Council since its inception and was a regular attendee at the council’s events for the past 55 years.
Mr. Heath was a California native from a large family who got his start in retailing as a pre-teen working for a local Southern California grocer. After high school, he worked for several more retailers and then, while only in his 20s, he and a handful of other ambitious entrepreneurs opened the first Pantry Market in Pasadena in 1955, with Mr. Heath as its director of produce operations. The chain grew to a dozen stores or so before being bought by a larger retailer.