After Iskalo Development Corp. purchased the former Heritage Centers building at 101 Oak Street back in 2018, it began to set its sights on attracting an anchor tenant or two for the free standing 67,485 square foot single story building.
In 2022, Big Ditch Brewing opened a new 40-barrel production brewery in the building (corner of Elm and Eagle), and now Top Seedz – A Buffalo born and bred cracker company – has announced that it has successfully relocated its headquarters to 101 Oak Street. Top Seedz signed a lease for 35,000 square feet of the factory building, and is now officially open at its new home.
Empire State Development (ESD) supported the company’s growth with up to $315,000 through the performance-based Excelsior Jobs Tax Credit Program in exchange for promised job commitments. The company is adding 20 employees to its current roster of 28.
From occupying a stand at a local farmers’ market, to operating a 5,000-square-foot facility in suburban Buffalo, to now expanding to a rather enormous downtown footprint, Top Seedz founder Rebecca Brady really has come a long way since opening in 2017.
Now that Top Seedz is up and running at its expanded headquarters, the company will be able to produce 12,000 boxes of crackers in just four hours, thanks in part to new automated packaging equipment. In the last six months, cracker production has tripled, and new hires are working extended shifts in order to accommodate the rapid growth.
Buffalo Rising caught up with Brady in 2022, approximately one year after her company was awarded a $1 million in a startup funding competition hosted by 43North. It is interesting to note that Brady’s workforce is 90% mostly-female refugees. Needless to say, Top Seedz has become a huge Buffalo success story, for a lot of reasons. From supporting Buffalo’s local refugee community, to substantially climbing to such economic heights in a relatively short period of time, Brady and her team should be commended for achieving so many accomplishments in short order.
Get connected: topseedz.com
The post Top Seedz opens the doors of its new HQ in downtown Buffalo @ 101 Oak Street appeared first on Buffalo Rising.