Albuquerque-based Bueno Foods, a food producer and distributor, has plans for a $10 million expansion for its local manufacturing campus, according to a news release sent Tuesday from the New Mexico Economic Development Department.
The expansion, which will take place on its current property at 2001 4th Street SW in Albuquerque, will include a 25,000-square-foot freezer warehouse. The project is expected to begin in early summer. The expansion is expected to be completed by the end of next year, at which time Bueno Foods will begin to add 49 employees over five years, according to the news release.
A representative from Bueno Foods was unable to be reached for comment on the project.
The company was founded as a grocery store in the 1946. Today, it offers red and green chile, tortillas, enchiladas, tamales and other items. In 2017, Bueno Foods announced its products would be available in Walmart, including enchiladas, Hatch green chile and pork tamales in multiple states, Business First reported.
The state's release says Bueno Foods now employs about 280 full time and is still owned and operated by its founding family, the Baca's.
The company is being assisted with a $500,000 Local Economic Development Act grant from the state, the release says. The LEDA program is used as a closing fund to grow existing New Mexico businesses and recruit others to the state. The city of Albuquerque is the fiscal agent for the expansion project.
"Expanding quality food production and manufacturing close to home is a priority for this administration and for the farmers and growers in the state who rely on Bueno to get their products to restaurants and consumers," Economic Development Department Cabinet Secretary Alicia J. Keyes said in a statement.
