Bob Evans Brings High Tech to Its Farm Fresh

Written by Innovate New Albany@InnovateNA10 years ago

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When Bob Evans Farms opened its new $46.5 million campus in New Albany recently the company realized its ambition of melding a past steeped in country traditions with a future focused on food innovation.

“Bob Evans is in the food innovation business and the work environment needs to support that goal,” said Joe Eulberg, Bob Evans’ executive vice president, human resources. “The physical facility needed to support collaboration, food innovation and cost efficiencies while providing the ability to grow.”

The new building borrows literally and figuratively from the past with materials and design elements like a white 1952 Bob Evans delivery truck on the second floor mezzanine, a founders’ hall with memorabilia and stairwell towers that suggest the silos of a barn.

In a nod to its future, at the center of the facility is a two-story, state-of-the-art test kitchen where recipes are developed and commercialized. Open collaboration spaces draw abundant natural light from the large, plentiful windows and skylights. The headquarters features a Farmers Market Café and a Bob Evans Express counter, its recently launched quick-serve kiosk. The building was constructed according to Gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) specifications that are based upon energy efficiency, sustainability and environmentally friendly standards.

Innovate New Albany, the city’s incubator for technology startups, entrepreneurs and small businesses, features 16,000 square feet of space within the New Albany Business Park’s Signature Office Building, 8000 Walton Parkway.