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ORAL HISTORY

Glenn Roberts

Anson Mills

Glenn Roberts grew up in the hospitality business in San Diego, California. As a young man, he worked as a busboy at his mother’s restaurant. After he graduated from the University of North Carolina, he joined the Air Force, sailed the world on private boats, and drove long-haul trucks. He eventually landed in South Carolina, where his mother grew up.

In 1998, Roberts left his Charleston-based career in historic restoration and hotel design to follow his nose into the agriculture and food industries. As founder of Anson Mills, based in Columbia, South Carolina, Roberts grows, harvests, and mills heirloom varietals of organic rice, corn, and wheat for chefs and home cooks.