Carolina Coops: Father turns side hustle into a golden egg

CREEDMOOR, N.C. (WTVD) -- Creedmoor business owner Matt DuBois is thankful for chickens this Thanksgiving. Dubois owns Carolina Coops which specializes in custom-designed chicken coops. The company ships custom chicken coops around the world. Dubois started the company by dumpster diving for scrap wood to construct the coops as a way to make extra money.

In 2021, the company did more than $5 million in sales.

"We're fortunate," Dubois said. "I mean, yeah, rags to riches. My long-term dream has always been to walk into a big box store and see my product on a shelf."

DuBois moved his warehouse back to North Carolina from New York about a year ago and now has more than 30 employees.

He's proud of his growing company but more proud of how his company is able to give back.

"We have focused on hiring right using a reentry program where when there are people getting out of prison, for example, and they need to go find a place to work," Dubois said. "And, then we've done a lot of coops for schools, which makes me very happy. It's so important that these kids get outside and learn where food comes from."

Dubois said that with inflation affecting everyone, he has had many requests to construct greenhouses for people to grow their own food.

His company is almost done with a prototype and plans to begin offering greenhouses to customers soon.

"The American Dream is still possible," Dubois said. "If you're willing to dream big and work hard."