ALLEN COUNTY, OH (WLIO) - A new meat processing business is getting ready to break ground on a multi-million dollar building in Delphos.
The Allen County Commissioners approved a 10-year 90% tax abatement agreement for Rode's (road-ee's) Meats. The six-and-a-half million dollar investment will build an 18 thousand-square-foot facility on Coletta Way and employ around 20 people. Besides processing, they will have a store to sell meats and cheeses. The Rode's saw a need for this type of business locally during the pandemic, as people started going to local butchers when industrial meat processors had to close down for a while because of COVID-19.
"People got a taste of local meat, fresh meat, and what happens is the infrastructure just not there for that need," says Jim Rode. "So packers, local small packers are backed up a year or two years for scheduling to get local farmers meats in. So, there is definitely a need for it and we took the dive and here we are three years later so we are getting ready to get started," explained Andrea and Jim Rode, owners of Rode's Meats
Construction should be starting soon and take about a year to complete. The Allen County Commissioners also marked May being Mental Health Awareness Month with a proclamation and a thank you to the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board for their work locally to raise awareness of the issue.
