Golden Flake closes factory

WVAS | By Melanie Hogan

Published May 2, 2023 at 1:10 PM EDT

A Pennsylvania company will no longer make Alabama’s iconic Golden Flake snacks in Birmingham.

Utz Brands said it will close the factory in early July, laying off 175 workers. Utz said about 100 employees will continue working at a new warehouse in Birmingham to distribute the snack foods.

The company said it “expects no distribution or availability issues” because of the factory closing.

Utz bought Golden Enterprises, the former owner of Golden Flake, for $141 million in 2016.

The brand was founded in 1923 in the basement of a north Birmingham grocery store.

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Melanie Hogan

Melanie began her career as a work study student, working in the areas of news reporting, anchoring and news-gathering. After graduating from Alabama State University, she worked as a production assistant at the local NBC affiliate, WSFA-TV. As a News Director at WVAS-FM, Melanie leads her team to produce award- winning newscasts and talk shows. Her professional achievements includes News Reporter of the Year for a number of years and awards for talk show producer, by the Alabama Broadcasters Association and the Associated Press. She is an active member of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce. Her goals are to expand the reach of WVAS FM into more homes locally, regionally and nationally.

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