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MassDevelopment In The News
Bagel Boy Inc. Will Add About 35 Employees
August 16, 2007: The Eagle Tribune, by Zach Church
LAWRENCE — That trendy bagel you just bought at Trader Joe’s was made in Lawrence. And due, in part, to a recently secured tax-free bond about 35 more people will soon be paid to make it.
Bagel Boy Inc., started 15 years ago in Methuen, has taken the nearly $4.4 million bond and used it to help refurbish and install machinery in its brick building at 485 S. Union St., just across from Plaza One Fourteen.
That follows a nearly $3.9 million tax-free bond last year to help purchase the building. President and CEO Chuck Bouchrouche said the expanded facility means he’ll be taking on 35 more workers to pump out more than 1 million bagels daily. Those bagels are sold at Trader Joe’s, Market Basket, Shaw’s and other groceries, where they are available as store brands. Bagel Boy also sells its own brand, Zeppy’s, which it bought from a Randolph company last year.
"We needed the growth," Bouchrouche said. "With more growth comes more opportunity for people to work. We wanted the Lawrence people to get the jobs."
Currently, Bagel Boy’s staff is about 125 people, though many of those come from area temp agencies. The company will now be picking those workers up as regular employees.
The tax-exempt bond is the latest in a line of good news for the company, which began in a 500-square-foot facility in Methuen in 1992. The South Union Street building is about 135,000 square feet.
Also in the mix is the sale of Bagel Boy’s old property at the Lawrence Riverfront Industrial Park to Hannah International Foods of Seabrook, N.H., Bouchrouche said. That means more jobs coming to Lawrence there, he said.
Robert Culver, president and CEO of MassDevelopment, praised Bagel Boy in a statement.
"Bagel Boy’s expansion is proof that manufacturers can succeed and add jobs in the commonwealth with the help of dynamic financing solutions like our tax-exempt bond program," Culver said. MassDevelopment is the state’s finance and development authority.
Bouchrouche said the bonds help him cut down on his production cost and take on the employees as the demand for the wholesale bagels grows.
"We’re doing very well right now," he said. "And we’re hoping to stay up there."
Even as it expands, Bagel Boy won’t be offering a retail store, Bouchrouche said, even though signs on the South Union Street building have created a misconception in the city.
"I probably have 30 people walk in every day looking to buy bagels," Bouchrouche said. "(But) I like to do what we’re doing."
© Copyright 2007 Eagle Tribune.
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