English Pork Pie Co. turns down Ohio offer
By David Robinson
The English Pork Pie Co.,a Cheektowaga food company that had been on the verge of moving to Ohio last summer, is staying in the Buffalo Niagara region with the help of an array of incentives, including a small tax break approved Monday by the Erie County Industrial Development Agency.
The company, which was founded by Damian and Vicky Parker, has grown rapidly since it opened in 2008 and needed a much bigger home than its 6,000-square-foot facility on Broadway in Cheektowaga.
While the Parkers found a suitable local building last year, they were unable to get financing to buy it, prompting them to expand their search outside the Buffalo Niagara region. They found 24,000 square feet of suitable space outside Youngstown, Ohio, and were able to obtain the financing they needed, putting them on the verge of leaving Western New York last summer.
But the Parkers, at the last minute, found a new site at the former Village Farms property at 1216 South Park Ave. in Buffalo, across the street from the former Republic Steel plant, that they decided was better suited to their needs than the Ohio property. The couple plans to adopt an old English market theme at the new 37,000-square-foot site, including cobblestone streets, said Karen Fiala, the IDA’s assistant treasurer.
While the IDA approved $7,000 in mortgage tax breaks for the company’s planned purchase of the Buffalo property, the company is seeking far more lucrative incentives from Empire State Development, including tax credits through the state’s Excelsior program and aid from the City of Buffalo.
The company, which currently has 50 employees, said it expects to double its work force within the next two years.
The business has purchased a $400,000 pie-production machine that lets it make 50 times as many pies as it does now. The company sells its pies, mainly online, to customers across the country, in English- themed shops, tea rooms, restaurants, pubs and specialty food stores. About 15 percent of its sales are to international customers.
With its increased production capacity, the company expects to be able to sell its pies in more stores and also push into the Canadian market, Fiala said. The company buys about 85 percent of its ingredients from local vendors.
“The English Pork Pie project is exactly the kind of project we should be getting into,” said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, who also sits on the IDA board of directors. Jobs “are what it’s all about.”