Amy’s Kitchen hires 75 new employees as opening day closes in

Amy’s Kitchen is serving-up some good news, announcing on Wednesday afternoon it has hired the first of its workers, and when the company said it was coming to the Gate City, it made a promise to try and hire back the former Heinz plant employees.

Co-founders Andy and Rachel Berliner said they already hired 75 new employees, with all but two people who were former Heinz workers. They said by this upcoming summer they expect to hire 250 employees, and with roughly 1,000 people who attended its hiring fair, they hope to match that number within a couple of years.

But it’s not just about the immediate number of jobs the company is creating, but the impact the ripple effect will have on the rest of the surrounding community – including the farmers.

“We buy over 100 million pounds of organic vegetables each year,” Andy said. “And now that the organic world is more profitable for farmers, we hope to help people convert to the organic side.”

Pocatello Mayor Brian Blad said Amy’s Kitchen will be paying higher wages than what Heinz paid its employees, which is a step toward Bannock County’s goal of attracting more higher-paying jobs.

“We are not looking for companies who are paying minimum wage,” Blad said. “We want companies that will pay a living wage because we want people to be able to enjoy their lives. I mean, we live in Idaho for a reason, and that’s to enjoy it.”

Director of the Idaho Dept. of Commerce Jeff Sayer said the California-based Amy’s Kitchen is a perfect example of a company that would not have moved into Idaho if it weren’t for the new tax incentive the state enacted back in July.

“It was down to the final three of us Amy’s Kitchen was looking at,” Sayer said. “We knew the incentive was going to be a game-changer and Amy’s was a great example of the kinds of companies we are going to start attracting because of it.”

He added, this is the largest growth rate the state has seen in recent memory thanks to the incentive, and said Idahoans can expect roughly 5,000 more jobs to appear within the next couple of years.

According to the Dept. of Commerce’s website, the company will receive a 26% tax reimbursement incentive for 15 years with a 70% performance threshold. This means 50 or more jobs, or the greater of that and 70% of job projections. Amy’s Kitchen must also match or exceed the average county annual wage of $32,407 for its new jobs.

(You can view more information on the tax incentive here.)

When asked about the impact this incentive will have on those small, mom-and-pop shops, Sayer said they weren’t left out of the consideration process, either.

“We knew we also had to pay close attention to how it would effect small businesses and we feel if we bring a big company such as Amy’s Kitchen to a small area, that will send a ripple effect and help every small business in that area.”