Rohnert Park is getting a sweet boost to its economy.
Get Lean Foods, maker of low-calorie chocolate and baked goods, has purchased a 12,000-square-foot warehouse in northwest Rohnert Park that the company plans to convert into a manufacturing facility to produce 50,000 chocolate bars per day.
The chocolatier is the latest venture to locate in Rohnert Park as it looks to attract new economic development three years after a fiscal crisis almost left the city insolvent.
Owner Dave Pickett said he paid $1.2 million for the warehouse. He plans to start producing chocolate in July with all-natural cookies and brownies to follow.
"To start, the focus will be on chocolate," Pickett said. "This product is completely sugar-free, fat-free, dairy-free, nut-free, soy-free and gluten-free. There is nothing on the market now that is even close to this."
Pickett said he is in talks with Whole Foods about distributing his chocolate. The company also will have an online store, Pickett said, and he has talked with city officials about opening a retail outlet in Rohnert Park.
Pickett, 30, started the company with family money; his relatives are in the nutritional supplement business.
The company currently has two employees but plans to expand to 10 once production starts. Pickett said as many as 40 workers could be making chocolate within a year.
"My friends tease me about my chocolate factory. They ask me how the Oopa Loompas are doing," he said, referring to the diminutive candy-makers in the Willy Wonka novels and movies.
Get Lean's launch comes as Rohnert Park officials have actively been trying to fill vacant commercial and industrial buildings with companies that create jobs and add tax revenue to the city's books.
The city has streamlined the permitting process to attract businesses, said Marilyn Ponton, development services director.
"Rohnert Park is open for business," she said. "We're very excited to have Get Lean Foods establish their business here. We're looking forward to a long-term relationship with them."
Three years ago, faced with a $6 million budget deficit and talks of bankruptcy, the City Council declared a fiscal emergency. Dozens of city jobs were cut and 2,500 private sector jobs left town.
A flurry of developments in the past 18 months have turned around Rohnert Park's economic outlook. First, the $145 million Green Music Center at Sonoma State University opened, giving the city a world-class performing-arts space.
The $800 million Graton Resort and Casino followed, creating 2,000 jobs when it opened last fall.
Developer SunCal Cos. in December purchased the vacant State Farm Insurance campus, lending hope to a long-term goal of redeveloping 282 acres in the core of a city that lacks a definable center.
Other businesses that have opened recently in Rohnert Park include Walgreens, Chipotle and two fitness chains. Amy's Kitchen, Oxford Suites and Flipside Brewhouse are expected to launch this year.
Get Lean Foods will move into the business park at Carlson Court and Labath Avenue. Pickett said the company will produce five flavors of chocolate: caramel, coconut, peanut butter, fudge and coffee.
This is Pickett's first venture. He started the company with an inheritance from his grandfather, Don Pickett. The elder Pickett made his fortune with NeoLife, a protein shake and nutritional supplement company he founded.
Pickett's uncle, Greg Pickett, started CytoSport, maker of the protein supplement Muscle Milk.
Ten percent of Get Lean's profits will go toward obesity and diabetes research, Dave Pickett said.
He grew up in Sacramento and moved to Petaluma six years ago. He said Rohnert Park was a great place to set up shop.
"The city has been fantastic," he said. "I couldn't be happier with Rohnert Park right now."
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