Home Chef Announces Move to New State-of-the-Art Production Center

Home Chef, one of the largest meal kit delivery companies in the US, is expanding in San Bernardino County, nearly tripling the size of its operations. Based in Chicago, Home Chef will relocate its West Coast production facility to 200,000 square feet of space to better serve their increasing consumer base. With this move, Home Chef will retain more than 300 existing jobs in San Bernardino, with expansion planned to follow the move.

Home Chef offers a variety of meal kits that fit into varying levels of preparation and cooking times, including an Oven-Ready line that comes packed in an oven-safe tin eliminating the need for a pan. The meal kits also have a Heat & Eat line that can be warmed in five minutes or less. Home Chef’s new state-of-the-art space will accommodate both the e-commerce and retail branches of the business. 

“Our secret sauce has always been our consumers’ first approach,” commented Pat Vihtelic, Home Chef’s founder and CEO. “Everything about our experience is designed with the consumer at the center. By keeping our West Coast facility in San Bernardino, we will be able to continue to provide the best possible cooking experience.”

 The San Bernardino County Economic Development Agency proactively worked to keep Home Chef in the county. The agency facilitated key meetings between Home Chef and its various resource partners to ensure the company could take advantage of a number of incentives. 

“We are proud to call the city of San Bernardino our West Coast home. We look forward to creating more jobs and continuing to make a positive impact on the local community,” said Alice Thompson, Home Chef’s COO. “We have an incredible team recruited from the area. Maintaining that team was top of mind as we determined where to expand our West Coast presence.”

The county also provided assistance related to Home Chef’s site selection efforts including assessment of cost comparisons between multiple locations. The Economic Development Agency helped to expedite permitting between city and county departments to meet project management milestones associated with Home Chef’s expansion. 

To support the firm’s staffing needs, the County’s Workforce Development Agency is working with Home Chef on numerous workforce initiatives, including participation in county job fairs.

 Reg Javier, San Bernardino County Deputy Executive Officer of Workforce and Development, commented, “It is even more gratifying when a company is able to build upon its success in our county. We know that our workforce, strategic infrastructure and attainable lifestyle can make a real difference for companies that are looking to grow and establish a strong West Coast presence. Home Chef is a great employer that now provides our population with the opportunity to work in a leading-edge sector of the fast-growing meal kit delivery industry.”