Farm, winery squeezes new revenue streams with fruitful expansion

Sometimes the best business ideas come from raw experimentation, rather than a specific plan. A fast-growing Plant City winery is Exhibit A.

By Brian Hartz
| 5:00 a.m. August 25, 2023
| 0 Free Articles Remaining!

Keel Farms President Clay Keel took over the business from his father, Joe Keel.

Tampa Bay-Lakeland

Bottom Line

Key takeaway: Plant City’s Keel Farms has made a remarkable transformation from a wholesaler of blueberries and strawberries to a prominent producer of wine, beer and cider, prompting the creation of a complementary business, Keel & Curley Winery, that now drives the majority of revenue growth.

Core challenge: Pandemic-driven logistical issues continue to affect Keel Farms and Keel & Curley Winery, so much so that President Clay Keel decided to have its cider made completely offsite rather than have apples and juice shipped to Florida.

What’s next: The farm and winery have new a sponsorship deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the 2023 season, and plans are in the works for a new vineyard, which will grow muscadine grapes, on eight acres on the shores of Lake Thonotosassa.

Spread across 40 acres on the outskirts of Plant City, just north of Interstate 4, you’ll find one of the hidden gems of the Tampa Bay food and beverage scene: Keel Farms and Keel & Curley Winery, complementary companies founded by blueberry farmer Joe Keel and are now run by his son, Clay Keel, who’s helped transform the family business into a $10 million operation that’s been grown 30% in the past few years.

The Keel brands’ evolution from agricultural business to dining and entertainment hub is a testament to the power of creativity, innovation and what you might call, for lack of a better term, tinkering — and never being totally satisfied and settled in your line of work.