A family-owned beef jerky processing business has been awarded State of New Mexico economic assistance for a long-planned expansion in Grant County, Economic Development Department (EDD) Cabinet Secretary Alicia J. Keyes announced.
Through the Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) job-creation fund, EDD has pledged $50,000 to Four and Five LLC, also known as G-Boyz Beef Jerky. The business plans to expand into a larger building in Bayard and hire nine new employees.
The business has been operating since 2018, manufacturing jerky in 24 flavors, with many customers coming from nearby mining communities. Owner Andres Gomez IV runs the company with help from his son and his mother.
G-Boyz has steadily increased production to the point where the business must move to manufacturing under full USDA authorization, which requires regular inspections by USDA representatives and use of USDA nutritional labels.
The funding will also allow G-Boyz to expand its distribution to include internet and wholesale sales. To facilitate this growth, the company is planning to purchase a commercial building and adjacent land that is approximately 1.5 blocks from the current manufacturing facility in Bayard. The building will require $90,000 to be brought up to code and become usable for food manufacturing purposes. The existing facility will be retained and used as a manufacturing outlet for freeze-dried Hatch chile and as a retail outlet.
“This is an extremely rural area and this LEDA assistance has been key for G-Boyz Beef Jerky to leverage other investment capital so this long-planned expansion can move forward,” Secretary Keyes said. “We see these partnerships with small family businesses around the state as an important way to build more resiliency and economic diversity in rural communities.”
Gomez said there has been more and more demand for the family’s products from elsewhere in New Mexico and outside the state and the expansion will add production space and processing so jerky can be packed and shipped.
“Every day we get phone calls from customers who want us to ship them products and with the USDA label we’ll be able to do that,” Gomez said. “We see being able to grow our sales outside of New Mexico by at least 25%. We are blessed to have lots of support from miners, Silver City’s rural community, and now the City of Bayard and the State. We have seen this potential for a long time and now we have the tools we need to grow a sustainable business.”
The City of Bayard will act as the fiscal agent for the project. Pending approval by the Bayard City Council, the G-Boyz LEDA deal will be the city’s first partnership with the State under the LEDA ordinance.
Bayard Mayor Chon S. Fierro said G-Boyz is a multi-generational family business that has been hoping to expand for years. "They have the best jerky and the growth and construction of a new facility will be great for Bayard," Mayor Fierro said. "They will be able to sell more products, market on the internet, and that means more jobs and more GRT for the city. We're real happy for G-Boyz and thankful to the State for helping to make this happen."