Grillo’s Pickles to Build $54 Million Production Plant in Bartholomew County

Grillo’s Pickles says it plans to open a new $54 million production plant near Edinburgh in Bartholomew County.

The company recently broke ground on a new 155,000 square-foot production facility near Exit 76 of I-65 at U.S. 31. The plant is being built next to a $175 million, 300,000 square-foot production facility for King’s Hawaiian according to a press release from the company.

Both companies are a subsidiary of Irresistible Foods Group, which is headquartered in Torrance, California.

Grillo’s Pickles says it plans to employ up to 150 people once their new facility is open. According to Inside Indiana Business, the company did not say when the facility would be open and in full production, but a filing with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) said the new jobs are expected to be added by 2028.

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 new Grillo’s Pickles building and equipment, to produce savings of approximately $1.2 million.

According to Kristen Goecker, Interim President of Greater Columbus Economic Development Corporation, regional leaders have also approved inclusion of up to $1.0 Million from the State of Indiana’s READI 2.0 funds awarded to the South Central Indiana Talent Region. Funds will support intersection improvements at US31 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.

In addition to local incentives, the IEDC has committed up to $1.4 million in the form of incentive-based tax credits to the company. These tax credits are performance-based, which the company will not be eligible to claim until Hoosier workers are hired for the new jobs.

According to the company’s website, Grillo’s Pickles started selling pickles out of a wooden cart in downtown Boston in 2008.