Warren County EDA announces sale contract on 426 Baugh Drive warehouse

Following a May 13th Special Meeting Closed Session, the Warren County Economic Development Authority (EDA or WC EDA) announced a contract on the sale of the large warehouse at 426 Baugh Drive. As noted in a WC EDA press release, the $5.7 million sale to the Shahi Food Group, a specialty ice cream bar producer with a distribution network in 20 states, including New York, New Jersey, Texas, Ohio, and Virginia, relieves the WC EDA of a significant portion of its bank debt service.

The full EDA board was present for the closed session convened at 8 a.m. Friday morning to review “a proposed relocation and expansion of a business to Warren County.”

In April of 2021, the EDA announced leasing of the 426 Baugh Drive property to SYSCO at a price of $28,800 a month. That lease expired this month. A previously projected sale at the asking price of $5.75 million to Parallel Virginia LLC, a pharmaceutical processor of medical cannabis, fell through due to permitting and other issues at the state level.

See the EDA press release on the contracted sale below:

WC EDA graphic of the 426 Baugh Dr. warehouse in the Stephens Industrial Park. It is now under a sales contract to Shahi Foods, a specialty ice cream bar manufacturer.

Shahi Food Group

The EDA is pleased to announce the contract to sell 426 Baugh Drive, an EDA property, to Shahi Food Group. The sales price of the property is $5.7 million. Shahi projects $7 million capital investment and a 5-year employment projection of 100 individuals. Shahi is projected to begin manufacturing operations at the Baugh Drive site in the late fall of 2022.

Shahi is currently based in a nearby county and has been in business for over 30 years. They produce an ethnic ice cream bar called Shahi Kulfi in 6 flavors – chocolate, strawberry, cream, pistachio, mango, and coconut. They currently distribute to over 2000 retail outlets in 20 states and have a large market presence in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Ohio, and Virginia.

Shahi is approved for retail sales in large grocery and warehouse stores in the US and has received approvals for European distribution of their products. The parent company of Shahi Foods is Shadchem – an international food and consumer products group with a presence in over 16 countries.

The EDA is incredibly excited about another food manufacturer locating in the Stephens Industrial Park of Warren County. EDA Chair Jeff Browne said: “This sale is a team effort with everyone taking an active role in determining that Shahi Food Group is a good fit for our community and has a tremendous upside as it expands in the United States and internationally. Furthermore, not only is the sale bringing jobs and investment to Warren County, but EDA is retiring a significant portion of its bank loans.”

Then EDA Executive Director Doug Parsons, white shirt, leads EDA board members on a tour of the 426 Baugh Dr. warehouse space.