Ellis Bros. Pecans

ELLIS BROTHERS PECANS

By Neil McGahee Managing Editor

Ellis Brothers Pecans have been a Dooly County institution since 1944 when Randy Ellis left Crisp County and moved to Dooly. Soon those ubiquitous signs proclaiming them “crazy for selling this cheap,” lined the highways drawing Florida-bound Yankee tourists by the car loads. But pecans weren’t the only reason the elder Ellis came to Dooly. “Our grandfather was a row crop farmer,” Keith Ellis said. “When he bought this farm, there were pecan trees already on it. When my father, Elliot, came back to the farm from Madison, Ga. He had more interest in pecans. “He actually built the store and started the retail end of the business. That was when Ellis Bros. Pecans evolved. People said no one would drive a mile off I-75 to buy something, but they were wrong.” The company started doing business in a small house. “At fi rst, we weren’t growing enough for what the needs were, so we had to go out and buy local pecans,” On any given day, the store is packed with cars from every state and some countries. Customers stand in sometimes, long lines to bring home pecans prepared in every conceivable way. “Today we pack and ship year round,” Ellis said. “Orders come from all 50 states but the bulk of our orders come from the northeast and the Great Lakes area. We sell a little more than a million pounds just in the retail store. ”By far, the favorite is the Desirable.” In 2010, China started buying and business really took off. “That paved the way for our kids to join the business,” he said. Unlike many small businesses, there is a long line of Ellis’ offspring waiting their turn to follow in the footsteps of their parents and grandparents. “All of us have worked in the business,” he said. “We worked in it as it developed. We were Ellis brothers working in Ellis Brothers. “Now they all start working the register in the retail shop when they are teenagers, so they can get an early start in the business.”

Ellis family, front row (l-r) Lucille, Kate Jones, Stephen, back row (l-r) Slade, Brad, Keith Ellis.

The quirky signs help lure customers, although the store is a mile off the interstate Neil McGahee / Cordele Dispatch