The company that invites customers to “Chill Out, Eat a Pickle” has officially confirmed its plans for a new, $54 million food manufacturing operation to meet its growing national demand from a site near Columbus, Ind. Grillo’s Pickles recently broke ground on a 155,000-sq.-ft. production facility along I-65 in Bartholomew County, Ind. The Taylorsville, Ind., facility in northern Bartholomew County will be adjacent to a previously announced $175 million King’s Hawaiian bakery operation. Both companies are subsidiaries of Irresistible Foods Group (IFG).

“When we purchased the Bartholomew County site, we did so with thoughts about building it out in phases,” says Joe Leonardo, vice president of strategic operations for Irresistible Foods Group and chief operating officer for King’s Hawaiian. “Today’s announcement for Grillo’s Pickles confirms our strategy.”

Grillo’s Pickles is investing $54 million to construct and outfit a 155,000-sq.-ft. food manufacturing facility and will employ up to 150 people. It is adjacent to the previously announced 300,000-sq.-ft. bakery facility for King’s Hawaiian.

“Our pickles use a century-old family recipe and contain no artificial preservatives,” says Adam Kaufman, president and CEO of Boston-based Grillo’s Pickles. “Grillo’s Pickles are packed, shipped and sold refrigerated. For our new production site, it was important to us to find a central U.S. location with a skilled workforce and supportive business environment, and we are very excited to be in Bartholomew County, Ind.”

Local government leaders expressed support for IFG’s two projects. In November 2023, Bartholomew County officials pledged up to $3,746,000 from a combination of County Rainy Day Fund and County Economic Development Income Tax (CEDIT) funds to pay for off-site water, sewer and road improvement upgrades to serve the project site and surrounding area. Last June, county officials unanimously approved the company’s request for an additional 10-year property tax phase-in on the Grillo’s Pickles building and equipment, producing savings of approximately $1.2 million.

“Bartholomew County, Ind., is committed to growing and diversifying our local economy, and we are exceptionally pleased to support and welcome Grillo’s to our community as an important part of our local strategy to attract food manufacturing,” says County Commissioner Tony London.

According to Kristen Goecker, interim president of Greater Columbus Economic Development Corporation, regional leaders have also approved inclusion of up to $1 million from Indiana’s READI 2.0 funds awarded to the South Central Indiana Talent Region. The funds will support intersection improvements at US-31 and Bear Lane, along with the extension of County Road 700N on the southern edge of the project site, in support of the Taylorsville Industrial Park.

“As a company, Grillo’s Pickles is known for their refreshingly unique pickle products, along with their fun and very distinctive marketing efforts,” Goecker says. “As such, Grillo’s is going to fit in perfectly well in a community that is known for being different by design, with a manufacturing workforce that is second to none.”

Bartholomew County Council president Leah Beyer also voiced her support of the project.

“This project represents economic development teamwork at its finest,” Beyer says. “County Planning & Zoning, County Council, the Board of Commissioners, City of Columbus officials, local utilities and our READI Regional Group have all pulled in the same direction to support the investments pledged by IFG, King’s Hawaiian and Grillo’s Pickles.”

In addition to local incentives, based on the company’s investment and job creation plans, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation committed an investment in Grillo’s Pickles of up to $1.4 million in the form of incentive-based tax credits. These tax credits are performance-based, meaning that the company is eligible to claim the incentives once Hoosiers are hired.