Glenn Roberts

Anson Mills founder Glenn Roberts grew up in San Diego, California, the son of a professional singer and photographer, and a former Southern belle from Edisto, South Carolina who became an accomplished scratch cook and occasional restaurateur. Never one for half measures, Glenn, in 1998, sold his worldly possessions, tossed his business card, and rented a sprawling metal warehouse behind a car wash in Columbia, South Carolina. He installed four native granite stone mills. Anson Mills was born.
By 2000, Glenn had his first real harvest of Carolina Gold rice, as well as 10 varieties of Southern dent corn heirlooms. He was milling grits for chefs in Georgia and the Carolinas. Word got around. A handful of ingredient-conscious chefs across the country began to use Anson Mills products and promote them vigorously to their colleagues.