West Maid Corporation President Robert Patterson addresses Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency board (May 26, 2026)
A Westfield company has been approved for a $200,000 loan to distribute concord grape juice pouches to school districts, food banks, and more.
The Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency board approved the five year loan at 4% interest working capital loans to WMC Grape Juice LLC, doing business as Lake Erie Juice Company of Westfield, NY. WMC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Westfield Maid Cooperative Inc.
WMC Grape Juice has purchased the former Dehavens Dodge City Building on 7505 East Route 20 in Westfield. The $2,615,000 project will include a processing and packaging line with a future opportunity to expand in a unique arrangement as a member-owned cooperative. Hiring will begin in year two with 3.75 jobs estimated, growing to 17 jobs by year six.
Westfield Maid Cooperative President Robert Patterson said the cooperative formed in 1935 and has about 65 members who cover more than 1,400 acres of grapes, “Given what happened with Refresco earlier this year, this project has become really important for us and for the grape growers mainly. So, our tentative plans are to be ready to go by November 1. We’ve ordered a packaging machine. It takes approximately nine months to get that built, since they’re building it from scratch, engineering it from the ground up.”
Concord Grape juice pouch to be produced by WMC Grape Juice LLC
Refresco announced in March 2026 that they were canceling contracts with local concord grape growers, impacting growers across Western New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.
Patterson said the current plan is to use 5,600 tons of local grapes for the grape juice pouch project.
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