The maker of iconic Akron appetizer Bunny B sauerkraut balls will remain in its hometown and plans a new building for the city-owned Ascot Industrial Park.
Officials with the company, Or Derv Foods Inc., which makes a variety of frozen appetizers as well as bottled sauces and other products, said earlier they hoped to build a new site in Akron. But they also considered locating elsewhere in the region.
Company co-owner Keith Kropp said the city gave the company a good deal on vacant land at Ascot, off State Road. In the end, “It just didn’t make sense to move to another town.”
The business “has been an Akron company since ’62 and we like this area. Our employees are from this area.”
Construction on the 20,000-square-foot concrete block and steel office and production facility is to begin soon. An opening is set for August. Construction and land costs will total about $2.5 million.
Or Derv will join roughly two dozen companies at the 200-acre city-owned industrial park. Companies include Kropp’s former employer, Main Street Gourmet, maker of frozen bakery items. Kropp was chief operating officer there.
Kropp, who bought Or Derv in 2004, said the growth in Or Derv’s appetizer lines forced the need for additional space.
Under Kropp’s leadership, the company has greatly expanded and now makes everything from meatballs to calamari that are sold to food distributors and national and regional restaurant chains. The only Or Derv products regularly available at grocery stores are Bunny B sauerkraut balls.
Akron bank FirstMerit Corp. is providing financing for the Ascot building. Hummel Construction of Ravenna will build the facility, designed by architect Ted Manfress, also of Ravenna.
Or Derv will hang on to its existing facility at 957 Johnston St. off Arlington Street in Akron, southeast of downtown. The plan is to move the company’s new bottling operation — where sauces and salsas are made — from a temporary site to Johnston. Or Derv is a private-label bottler, making products sold under other companies’ brand names.
Or Derv has about 20 workers; employment is expected to increase with the opening of the Ascot site.
The company got an infusion of dollars for expansion last summer. The investment came from area businessman Bob Shearer and others, who now own 40 percent of Or Derv. Terms of this deal are not being disclosed.
Shearer helped turn Shearer’s Foods of Massillon, maker of potato chips and other snacks, into a $500-million-a-year business. Shearer stepped down as Shearer’s CEO in 2012 as part of a sale of that company.
Kropp said much of Or Derv’s growth has been in its custom appetizer products for restaurants and food distributors.
“The Olivation line (battered and breaded balls featuring diced olives blended with cheese and seasonings) has grown tremendously,” he said.
Bunny B sauerkraut balls have become a small part of the business under Kropp’s leadership. Most Bunny B sauerkraut balls are sold at grocery stores within a 50- to 75-mile radius of Akron, a city known for its love of the treat. (Most restaurant customers carry Or Derv’s Connoisseur brand of sauerkraut balls.)
Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com.