NYC investment group purchases Chuckanut Bay Foods for $6.6 million

A New York City-based investment group acquired Chuckanut Bay Foods in a $6.6 million purchase last week.

On November 8, Bookend Capital Partners, which focuses on investing in the food sector, purchased the Blaine cheesecake manufacturer that operates a 20,000-foot facility at 1649 Boblett Street. Bookend is a private equity fund founded by a Washington native Alexander S. Panos that invests in midsized companies with revenues between $20-300 million, according to its website.

Chuckanut Bay Foods employs 160 people at its Blaine facility and ships its desserts, including its popular single-serving cheesecake, to over 10,000 stores across the country.

Anthony Battaglia took over as the company’s new CEO on November 8. Battaglia, who has managed beverage companies Island Oasis in Massachusetts and American Beverage in Pennsylvania, said he looks forward to expanding to more customers, especially on the east coast.

“I think the sky’s the limit on what we can do,” he said. “They’re serving a great product that’s a single-serving and has tremendous opportunity.”

Battaglia said he envisions the company doubling once it gets the right customers and increases capacity. He said they will invest substantially in the company in the next year, but declined to give a dollar amount as numbers are still being worked. 

The plans are to keep operations in Blaine, Battaglia said, as the Boblett Street property has room to expand the facility.

“The roots of the company are here, the skills are here and I think the common sense approach would be to make our investments here,” he said.

Although the CEO changed leadership, the company’s cofounders will remain with Chuckanut Bay Foods. Jim Gibson, Chuckanut Bay Foods co-founder and CFO, said he and the company’s two other cofounders wanted to partner with an investor with resources to grow the company.

“Bookend shares our vision – not only for increasing the availability of our hand-crafted desserts to even more customers, but also for expanding the bakery in Blaine and creating more jobs here,” Gibson said in a statement. “We are so proud of what we have been able to accomplish over the years.”

Chuckanut Bay Foods started in 2008 after the brand was bought from a local bakery. In March 2019, Chuckanut Bay Foods transferred its operations from two Ferndale facilities to Blaine, which enabled future expansion and efficiency.

“You put all of your efforts and get a company to a certain level and it requires more investments to get to another level,” Battaglia said.