LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A new pretzel manufacturing facility held its grand opening in the Park Hill neighborhood Friday.
Officials are calling it the "largest economic development project ever on record for west Louisville."
Stellar Snacks, the first woman-owned pretzel manufacturer in the U.S., cut the ribbon on a brand new $137 million industrial bakery which will create 350 full-time jobs over the next decade.
The facility is located at 1391 Dixie Highway in an existing 434,000-square-foot structure.
Baking ovens are assembled and prepared to start making the various pretzel flavors in the Derby City. The company and city officials celebrated during the ribbon cutting Friday.
Stellar Snacks was founded by a mother daughter duo in 2019, Elisabeth and Gina Galvin, in Carson City, Nevada and wanted to expand to Louisville. An area in the metro that's been seeing a lot of large investments from multiple companies.
"We together can turn communities that have historically disinvested in to communities that are reinvested in," Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said.
Park Hill resident Al Beck joined the crowd to get a close look at the factory. He's hoping a family member will be able to overcome his criminal record to get a job.
"He just wants a chance," Beck said. "He needs benefits, he needs a decent record, he has kids and he just wants an opportunity. He's a good guy. He made a mistake at a young age and he just wants to chance to prove himself."
The founders, alongside Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, made it clear this bakery is a second chance employer.
"Having a job in that second chance is the single biggest most important piece to making sure that person doesn't reoffend," the governor said. "But also that we repair that family and we repair that life."
The factory had many assembled pieces put in place, but there were still many other parts still wrapped in delivery packaging that need to be set up.
"We are about to embark in a new chapter," co-founder of Stellar Snacks Gina Galvin said. "And we cannot think of a better moment than this."
Beck said the company's values reflect his own and his community's.
"Around here we have the sport complex, we got a lot of things that this company can help promote and help benefit," Beck said. "If we get in here and help be productive."
Greenberg said the company has already hired 53 employees. Additional hiring information and upcoming job fairs can be found here.
In 2025, the company plans to expand its commitment to career development through partnerships with local community colleges and trade schools to provide real-world work experience for students pursuing careers in industrial, electrical and robotic engineering, officials said.
"Our plan is to scale our operations and team sustainably, always keeping our core values at the heart of our growth," Gina Galvin, marketing and advocacy director for Steve Snacks, said. "Hiring locally, especially from west Louisville, is not only part of our commitment to the community but a vial element of how we plan to grow together, prosper together and create meaningful opportunities for our neighbors."
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or X feed.