SUNBURY, Pa. — State grant money is coming to Sunbury to help two businesses expand.
Fresh Roasted Coffee in Sunbury has been around since 2011. The coffee distributor is moving to a bigger facility at the former Sunbury Textile Mills property.
"We're growing substantially again and introducing a lot of new products, and I'm really hopeful about the future," said owner Andy Oakes.
Fresh Roasted Coffee and Sivana Converting, the incoming business next door, received a combined $2.3 million in state grant money.
Oakes says his share of the money will be used to buy a k-cup production machine.
"It will do up to about 150,000 compostable k-cups per eight-hour shift, so potentially about 450,000 compostable k-cups per shift on top of the machine we already have."
Oakes says he will also hire 15 to 20 people per shift to run that machine.
"Hoping to continue to grow Fresh Roasted, reach out and touch the world, and really try and make something special right here in Sunbury."
The owner of Sivana Converting tells Newswatch 16 he hopes to be operational by this summer, and he plans to hire around 350 people. Sivana Converting will produce hemp-based biodegradable products.
Oakes says Fresh Roasted Coffee may use some of those products to produce single-serve coffee pods.
The grant money is from the state's Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP).
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