Oct 18, 2011 - MAYOR BOOKER AND LT. GOVERNOR GUADAGNO BREAK GROUND ON NEW SITE FOR DAMASCUS BAKERIES IN NEWARK'S SOUTH WARD

MAYOR BOOKER AND LT. GOVERNOR GUADAGNO BREAK GROUND ON NEW SITE FOR DAMASCUS BAKERIES IN NEWARK’S SOUTH WARD
117,000 square foot commercial building will quadruple the capacity of Damascus’s operations and employ up to 180 people
Newark, NJ – October 18, 2011 – Mayor Cory A. Booker, Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno, Assemblyman Albert Coutinho, Department of Economic and Housing Development Acting Director & Brick City Development Corporation (BCDC) Chairman Adam Zipkin and BCDC CEO Lyneir Richardson joined with Damascus Bakeries Owners/Principals Edward and David Mafoud for a groundbreaking ceremony yesterday to welcome Damascus Bakeries to its new home at 60 McClellan Street in Newark’s South Ward.
“Newark is a city springing back with the support of family-owned businesses like Damascus Bakeries that choose to move to Newark and join our family. Thanks to strong leadership from Assemblyman Coutinho and Lt. Governor Guadagno, we are cultivating a nurturing soil so that businesses that come to Newark are able to do what they do best – be successful and flourish. It was moving for me to hear that Damascus Bakeries defines success not only as a matter of dollars, but in making an impact on the world. So I’m truly proud today that this great company, with its ethics, history, moral compass, and vision is choosing to make its home in a city that shares those very same values. Newark is on the road to Damascus,” said Mayor Booker.
“It’s only fitting that today’s groundbreaking ceremony of Damascus Bakery comes during the weeklong celebration of the New Jersey Business Action Center’s one-year Anniversary,” said Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno at the bakery’s new location at 60 McClellan Street. “Our Administration created the Business Action Center to provide a one-stop resource for companies looking to expand, relocate and invest in New Jersey. This customer-driven approach has redefined what it means to do business in the state, as evidenced by the proposed 28,000 jobs to created and retained through the Center’s efforts. We look forward to welcoming more leading manufacturers like Damascus to New Jersey in the months ahead. New Jersey is fast becoming a destination state for business relocation and expansion. Helping businesses every step of the way who want to move to New Jersey or grow here is what the Christie Administration does.”
Damascus Bakery, a family-run, third-generation commercial baking company, had been in Brooklyn since 1930. Owned by brothers Ed and David Mafoud, the bakery began making pita breads and now bakes pizza crusts and gourmet flatbreads. Its products are distributed nationwide and are used by such well-known businesses as Chick-Fil-A, Starbucks, Costco and Wawa to name a few.
“Today we are going to put our shovels to the ground with the hope, desire and ambition that sometime in the Spring of 2012 we will be putting boards in our ovens to take out our first flatbreads in the City of Newark. People have asked me, why Newark? I tell them, Why not Newark? Newark has a rich legacy of food companies and a diverse environment similar to what led to our success in Brooklyn. We love what Newark has to offer us. The city has a great hard-working workforce and has an administration that is pro-business with a reputation for getting things done. We received a great package of tax incentives from the city and state to relocate our business to Newark and were first impressed by the close proximity of this location to railways and the airport. I am proud to announce that our ark has landed in Newark,” said Damascus Bakeries Owner/Principal Ed Mafoud.
“We’re not just another company making a product- We’re baking bread, we’re feeding lives,” said Damascus Bakeries Owner/Principal David Mafoud. “We’re making breads that are formulated to help the battle against child obesity. All Natural Flatbreads, with controlled calories and carbohydrates, fortified with Vitamin D and calcium, and in some cases, Omega 3’s. When it was time to decide where it was in New Jersey to go, we knew there was no neighborhood more similar to Brooklyn than Newark. We were told that if we come to Newark, we could make a lot of bread, and equally as important, become a teammate to a revitalizing city with winning visions. We said, ‘That’s what we want to do, so let’s just do it”. We hope people don’t just look at us as a source of jobs, but as a bakery that is avant-garde, ahead of its times, understanding nutrition, and supporting the community.”
The company is relocating its headquarters and operations from a 20,000-square-foot facility in Brooklyn to a 117,000-square-foot facility in the South Ward of Newark’s Urban Enterprise Zone. The building was purchased for roughly $3.5 million with financing provided by Sovereign Bank in partnership with the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. Hollister Construction Services is working as the Construction Managers for this entire multi-phased construction project.
“In the next two weeks we will start construction of a baking line and then will have other companies installing ovens and boilers. We expect this 107,000 square foot commercial building, which quadruples the capacity of the Brooklyn facility and now gives them 18 loading docks which will expand their services. It’s another exciting Hollister project in the City of Newark. We have a great working relationship with City and look forward to the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new home of Damascus Bakeries,” said Kieran Flanagan, President of Hollister Construction Services.
The state has provided the bakery with a $7.75 million tax-exempt bond and two loans from the Local Development Financing Fund Program totaling $1.75 million. The company also received a Business Employment Incentive Program (BEIP) grant for $414,000 tied to the creation of 180 manufacturing jobs. The state and city worked with Damascus for almost three years to help the bakery identify the best site for its business.
“This is a great day, yet another example of when government and private industry can make great things to happen and put people to work. I congratulate Mayor Booker and his team. They are using tools that the Governor and I put at their disposal. This is truly a ground-breaking year in Newark and most importantly, a great day with new jobs coming. There is more yet to come, and we will keep working. State and city officials are working on our number one priority, getting people back to work,” said Assemblyman Albert Coutinho.
Acting Director Zipkin said, “Five years ago Mayor Booker charged us with re-invigorating our port district and bringing distribution centers and light manufacturing facilities to Newark, and we have answered that charge with companies like Bartlett Dairy, Wakefern Distribution, Manischewitz’s world headquarters, Mimeo.Com, and Pitney Bowes. Today we continue that trend with Dasmascus Bakeries. I’m happy to say that the UEZ grant that the City and State have awarded to Damascus Bakeries includes a First Source agreement which ensures that Newark’s residents will be the first to interview and be hired for these jobs.”
“We were urgent but patient. This company had specific needs and our business attraction team worked meticulously to find a Newark location for the company. They will bring 180 new jobs and be a new anchor in our community. We are pleased to have them here,” said BCDC Chief Executive Officer Lyneir Richardson.
Ruben Gomez, Senior VP for Business Attraction and Retention at BCDC: “We showed them several locations in Newark. Since I’ve been working at BCDC for three years, this is the project we stuck with the longest. It’s very exciting to see Damascus choose Newark.”
The Booker administration has made economic development and the creation of jobs a high priority. These innovative efforts have included the launching of Brick City Development Corporation, the City’s economic development catalyst. Since 2006, the executives of major companies such as Pitney Bowes, Standard Chartered Bank, Audible.com, Mimeo.com, CGC Genetics, Panasonic, Marriott, Manischewitz, and others have chosen Newark as home for new corporate headquarters and major operations centers. They’ve been joined by entrepreneurs, including dozens of companies that received start-up capital or other assistance from Brick City Development Corporation, such as Dental Kidz, The Sixth Boro and Brick City Bar and Grill.
Economic development has also benefited from the 2007 opening of the Prudential Center, which brought New Jersey Devils hockey, New Jersey Nets basketball, and New York Liberty WNBA basketball to the City’s downtown. It also spurred the development of numerous downtown restaurants and bars as well as the construction of a new Marriott Hotel adjacent to the arena. Economic development has also taken place in all of Newark’s neighborhoods, with projects like the redevelopment and expansion of the Newark Screens multi-plex movie theater in the City’s Central Ward, by a group headed by Newark native and NBA basketball star Shaquille O’Neal.
For information on all other City of Newark programs and policies, contact the Non-Emergency Call Center at (973) 733-4311.
-NEWARK-
Contact: Press Information Office (973) 733-8004
About the City of Newark, New Jersey
Newark, commonly referred to as Brick City, is the third oldest city in the United States and the largest in New Jersey, with a population of more than 280,000 people. Newark sits on one of the nation’s largest transportation super-structures including an international airport, major commuter and freight rail lines, major highway intersections and the busiest seaport on the east coast.
With a new Administration as of July 2006, Newark continues to see signs of a strong revival. Its population showed growth in the most recent census. Its six major colleges and universities are further expanding their presence. The rate of production of affordable housing has doubled, and new businesses are moving in. There is still much work to be done but Newark is on its way to achieving its mission: to set a national standard for urban transformation.
About Brick City Development Corporation
Brick City Development Corporation (BCDC) is the primary economic development catalyst for Newark, New Jersey, organized to retain, attract and grow businesses, enhance small and minority business capacity, and spur real estate development within the city.
BCDC initiates and executes economic development activities to produce and sustain economic growth, generate jobs and create wealth for the citizens of Newark. Our team serves as advocates within the City’s municipal structure and provides a hands-on client management approach.For more information on BCDC, please visit our website at www.bcdcnewark.org.