I know you’ve always wanted to know what, exactly, is down Zesta Place. Today’s walk was an exploration of the industrial area surrounding the Jif peanut butter plant on Winchester Road including the intriguingly-named Zesta. (Did someone intentionally name a street that runs by a peanut butter plant after a cracker?)
But what lies down Zesta is about what you’d expect in an industrial area. You’d probably feel more comfortable on this street in a forklift or a semi. In addition to the peanut butter plant there are a number of smaller operations and a sprawling industrial gas distributor.
Both Zesta and Magnolia feel more like a part of the adjacent industrial operations than public, city-maintained streets (which they are), and a significant stretch of Montgomery was lined with razor wire fence on one side and barbed wire on the other. I was actually a little surprised that I received as little attention as I did. By the time I reached Zesta, I’d actually convinced myself that these were private streets.
Marcel,
Forgive me if I do not follow your blog as often as I probably should, as I have just seen this entry. The answer to your question is: Yes, the name Zesta Place was named after the cracker. The Jif plant was originally built as the Big Top Peanut Butter factory and the the National Biscuit Company had the property on the other side of the street. The street is private right of way and what better to call something which goes with peanut butter. The naming was purely intentional .
Thanks, any information and insight you add is appreciated, no matter when! This is a good quick history lesson on Jif…naturally, things about a place change, but it’s easy to forget that that applies to businesses as well.