Café Valley Bakery, Phoenix, broke ground on a new $40 million, 285,950-sq.-ft. bakery March 23. The facility is scheduled to be fully operational by the beginning of 2011 and will nearly double current distribution and production space, resulting in three times the current production volume. The bakery's thaw-and-sell products are distributed in more than 30,000 North American retail, wholesale and foodservice locations.

“Café Valley is thrilled to celebrate this milestone in the company's history,” said Ron Ogan, president and C.E.O. “We pride ourselves on our innovative products and believe our research and development group has been the catalyst for our significant growth in the last few years.”

Café Valley has operated in Phoenix since 1982 and recently tripled its top line revenues.

“It is important to our economy to see projects like the Café Valley bakery moving forward,” said Phil Gordon, mayor of Phoenix. “The expansion of existing companies is a key component to the economic development of the city and our state. Once operational, the bakery will create 200 additional jobs for Arizonans over the next five years.”

Café Valley currently employs nearly 400 people in management, sales, office and production positions and is located in a 106,000-sq.-ft. facility in Phoenix, which is to be replaced by the new plant.