HATFIELD — A woman-owned trucking company located in Hadley for the past decade, delivering locally grown produce throughout the region, could be moving to the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts property by the end of 2023.

The Planning Board unanimously voted Wednesday to waive site plan review so that Myers Produce can move forward with acquiring the 2.5-acre site at 97 North Hatfield Road expected to be vacated by the Food Bank this fall, as it moves to a new warehouse under construction in Chicopee.

Myers Produce owner Annie Myers told the board that the business she has run since 2013 is a “pretty small-scale distributor” renting a building at 311 River Drive in Hadley.

“We primarily are buying food from farms in Vermont and Massachusetts and trucking and distributing to customers in New York City and Boston,” Myers said.

Myers said she has been looking for a more permanent space, with the Food Bank building an appropriate warehouse. The 30,000-square-foot building, home to the Food Bank since 1987, is built exactly for what Myers Produce does, she said, and includes a sufficient number of loading docks and both refrigerator and freezer space inside.

Smaller box trucks are used to transport produce, with no tractor trailers or 18-wheelers part of the fleet. Though Myers said part of the property may be rented to someone else, though that business would likely not use the warehouse.

Myers said she already works with a number of farms. The move to Hatfield will bring the business closer to some farms that Myers Produce doesn’t yet distribute for.

The Planning Board approval requires no external changes to the business and a similar operation to the Food Bank, following the conditions of the bylaw allowing “processing and warehousing of agricultural products.”

Planning Board Chairwoman Stephanie Slysz said the site is industrially zoned, but there are concerns about traffic from neighbors, though most associated with the nearby C&S Wholesale Grocers tractor-trailer trucks that inadvertently travel through residential neighborhoods.

The approval does note that one Myers Produce truck will leave at midnight once a week, and that is to exit northbound using North Hatfield Road to get to Routes 5 & 10.

Slysz said if traffic becomes a concern Myers would have to come back for review. Myers said she has no intention to move to tractor-trailer trucks, even if the business grows.

The transition to a new wholesale distributor is a good outcome for the property, Slysz said.

“Sad to see them (Food Bank) leave because they’re such a staple in town, but excited to see a similar business supporting local farms for that particular spot,” Slysz said.

Hair salon approved

In other business, the board approved plans for part of the 22 West St. building where Sisters’ Convenience Store is located to be used as a hair salon.

Hatfield resident Kate Poole, who has owned Vici Hair Studio & Beauty Bar in downtown Amherst for nearly 10 years, said she intends to move the business to the community in which she lives, observing that it fills a void. Currently, there is no similar business between Northampton to the south and Deerfield to the north, Poole said.

“We really think the town would benefit from a hair salon,” Poole said.

The salon will be using space in the plaza formerly occupied by Peoples’ United Bank before it closed two years ago.

Inside, there will be three chairs for customers, where Poole and two hair stylists do their work, as well as space for an aesthetician. The salon likely will be open Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with some hours on Saturdays, as well, once the move is complete.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.]]>