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Since World War II, the Havre de Grace community has provided a home for Coca-Cola's distribution plant, but the iconic building will close its doors forever by Nov. 23.

The Mid-Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Co., a subsidiary of the Atlanta beverage giant, plans to cease operations at the Havre de Grace facility, leading to the displacement of up to 50 employees.

Coca-Cola faced constraints on expanding the 28,000 square-foot facility, even as the Maryland market continues to be strong and "rigorous," said spokesman Curtis Etherly Jr. The company employs about 1,600 people in the state.

"The limitations became something of an issue," he said, adding that Coca-Cola installed a loading dock for the warehouse in the 1990s.

The site consists of the main building, dating to World War II, a circa-1970 warehouse and a light storage and truck parking section built sometime in the 1940s or '50s, Etherly said. It started out as a process plant and later became a storage facility.

"These decisions are never easy because of the history involved," Etherly said.

Cathy Vincenti, executive director for the Havre de Grace Chamber of Commerce, said she recalls many times walking home from school and stopping to get a soda.

"It has been a mainstay of Havre de Grace for years," said William Seccurro, president and CEO of the Harford County Chamber of Commerce. "We hate to see any business leave. ... We would think that most of [the workers] are local people."

Etherly said the company remains "guardedly optimistic" that it can ensure jobs for the Havre de Grace employees elsewhere in the region. Coca-Cola runs 11 facilities in Maryland, including a large site in Hanover, near Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. Etherly said most of the volume and sales at the Havre de Grace plant could be shifted to that location.

"We're more concerned about backfilling the space with a suitable tenant," said James C. Richardson, director of economic development for the county. "It will take time since it's an older building."

Etherly said speaking about plans for the building now could be premature, but emphasized that Coca-Cola is staying in touch with city and county leaders.

Coca-Cola has been active in the regional community, including its support of the Harford Mall and the McDonald's LPGA Championship Tournament, Seccurro said.

This is the second plant in the state that Coca-Cola is shutting down in less than two years. In early 2008, the company shuttered its Frederick distribution center, consolidating those operations at its Hagerstown facility. Up to 49 workers were affected.