Founded in 1962 by Joe Sims and Bill Brooks, Sr. as distributors of potatoes, onions, and melons, Brooks & Sims was originally located in the L.A. Terminal Produce Building above the Seventh Street Market. Joe and Bill Sr. brought their sons into the business in the 1970s, and by 1982, Bill Brooks Jr. was part of the management/ownership team. The company eventually expanded with offices in both Los Angles and Newport Beach. Throughout its nearly 40 years in existence, Brooks & Sims evolved and adapted to overcome numerous challenges that confront most produce companies: extreme weather conditions, economic boom/bust, customer consolidation, commodity embargos, and key personnel changes. At the close of the 1990s, the consolidation that had swept through the produce industry at the retail level prompted Brooks & Sims to seek out and consummate a merger of their operations with Westlake Miller in 2001 in order to broaden their commodity offerings to a contracting customer base. Paying homage to their collective traditions, the new company originally operated under the name Westlake-Miller / Brooks & Sims. Over time, the desire to shorten the name won out and Westlake Produce Company was born.

Founded in 1977 by Harvey Sherman and Ernie Colton, Westlake Distributors, Inc. thrived in the Los Angeles marketplace selling melons, citrus, grapes, and vegetables to a growing retail customer base. In the early 1990s, Dale Liefer assumed majority ownership and helped cement the firm’s position in the Southern California landscape. Soon the company added field inspection and logistics support, and sought out strategic business combinations to strengthen relationships with their industry partners, including both their customers and their suppliers.