Empire State Development (ESD) and New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) today announced that DeCicco Enterprise, LLC is investing $3.97 million in the Hudson Valley. The company will open a food manufacturing facility in Brewster, Putnam County, which will serve as the primary internal manufacturing center for the DeCicco Family Markets located throughout Rockland and Westchester Counties. HCR, which consists of the State’s recently integrated housing and community renewal agencies, awarded the project $635,000 through the New York State Community Development Block Grant (NYS CDBG) program. ESD is providing the company with a $165,000 grant as a reimbursement for a portion of the investment being made. DeCicco Enterprise will create 75 new jobs over the next three years. The Brewster location opens today.
“DeCicco’s has spent more than thirty years building a reputation as the food market of choice for food lovers,” said ESD Chairman & CEO Dennis M. Mullen. “The structuring of all production around a central manufacturing facility will enable DeCiccos’ locations to increase the uniformity of its prepared foods product line, while decreasing its reliance on out-of-state manufacturers. In doing so, DeCicco’s will be investing significant capital and creating jobs right here in New York State.”
“The expansion of De Cicco Foods demonstrates the power of collaboration between the public and private sector,” said HCR Commissioner/CEO Brian Lawlor. “The $635,000 awarded by HCR will help to leverage millions more in investment and create good jobs with significant benefits, including healthcare and profit sharing. I’d like to thank and congratulate the De Cicco family and all the partners involved in this expansion.”
The company will manufacture and distribute various food items daily, including bread, pastries, cookies, pre-packaged prepared dinners and lunches, pre-packaged sandwiches, wraps, pre-packaged soups and will also produce fresh pasta, mozzarella, gelato, roast coffee, smoke salmon and cheese, pre-packaged salad, and pre-packaged cut fruit and vegetables to each of the six DeCicco Family Markets in the Hudson Valley.
“It was a pleasure working with Empire State Development and Homes and Community Renewal,” said DeCicco Enterprise, LLC President John A. De Cicco Jr. “Without the help of these two organizations this project would not have been possible.”
DeCicco Family Markets is in the retail food industry, competing with the likes of Balducci’s and Whole Foods. This manufacturing hub is set to be the first of its kind in the DeCicco Family Market franchise and will be the second DeCicco Family Market entity owned by John De Cicco Jr., Christopher DeCicco, and Joseph A. De Cicco; with the first entity being the store in Ardsley, which opened in 2006.
“We are thrilled to have been able to assist DeCicco’s in its expansion,” said Mid-Hudson Regional Director Susan Jaffe. “Not only is the family run company committed to supplying its customers with the freshest foods but its owners are also active members of their community – making donations in support of local programs. We wish them continued success here in the Hudson Valley.”
Empire State Development is New York’s chief economic development agency and administrator of the statewide business resource portal New York First (www.NYfirst.NY.gov). ESD is committed to being recognized on a global scale as the economic development engine driving job growth, strategic investment and prosperity in New York State. ESD is intent on paving the way for New York State to become the leader of the innovation economy and one of the most business friendly, productive and competitive economic development climates in the world. ESD also oversees the marketing of “I LOVE NY,” the State’s iconic tourism brand. For more information on Empire State Development, visit www.esd.ny.gov.