The Grove is growing the local agri-food industry

London, Ont. -

The Grove at Western Fair District opened with three companies in 2020, since that time they have welcomed three more as they follow a five-year plan.

“We’re really looking for agri-food and agri-based companies to actually come in and be a part of this community," says director of agri-food at the grove, James Smith. “This space will be filled with about 20 companies over the next five years.”

There's room for more business at The Grove at Western Fair District in London, Ont. (Marek Sutherland / CTV News)

One of the newest companies is ‘The Fritter Shop,’ which needed to expand to keep up with demand.

“We kept growing and growing and we’re in our fifth year of business now. And we’ve now outgrown the St. Thomas location to open this beautiful production space here, and we call it the ‘Fritter Factory,’” says owner Kelvin Van Rijn.

The Grove says it’s focus is to foster new and emerging agri-food companies to give them a launching pad to running a successful business.

“What their accelerator space does, is it allows you to purpose build your very first company,” explains Smith.