Gourmet Express Does SLB for Manufacturing HQ

The company bought the former Supervalu distribution facility in 2006, and has invested more than $7 million in renovating it, according to the Kentucky Economic Development Partnership. The company, which was formed in 1997, is moving 200 employees here, and will receive $5 million in incentives under the Kentucky Rural Economic Development Act program, the partnership said in a previous statement.

The food maker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August, and was acquired by private equity firm Ilex Capital Group LLC in December. The SLB helped capitalize the acquisition, says Robert Micera, SVP with First Industrial. He tells GlobeSt.com that it took a while for the company to get the facility ready; the company even advertised 140,000 sf for lease for $1.69 to $3 per sf in the interim.

Gourmet Express, which packages meals under the name Gourmet Dining, is expanding from the smaller facility in Illinois, Micera says. "A portion of the premises will contain state-of-the-art freezer/cooler space," he says. "This larger facility will allow the company to consolidate storage and distribution in-house, generate cost savings and expand into several new markets and products." The facility is just south of I-64, and west of I-41, at 600 Greene Dr.