Sign In
Upcoming Event
Free Newsletter
First Grow-NY $1 million winner RealEats shutters operations
First Grow-NY $1 million winner RealEats shutters operations
Listen to this articleRealEats, the first grand prize winner in New York’s agribusiness growth initiative and a recipient of millions of dollars in state investment and incentives, has gone out of business.
A post on the RealEats website announced the closure on Wednesday. The Geneva-based firm delivered ready-to-cook, chef-created meals to customers across the country and employed a workforce of around 150.
Founded in 2017, RealEats was the winner of the $1 million grand prize in the first Grow-NY competition in 2019. The startup fulfilled a series of benchmark requirements involving job creation and other economic development milestones required by the end of 2020 to receive the full award, Grow-NY director Jenn Smith said this morning.
Grow-NY is an annual competition that identifies, supports and funds food, beverage and agriculture innovations around the globe that set up operations in New York for at least one year. Winners are selected during a Shark Tank-like pitch competition in the fall.
Smith said Grow-NY officials will meet with RealEats founder and CEO Dan Wise in the near future to “discuss the background of the closure and the next steps for RealEats and Grow-NY.”
The firm moved into an 80,000-square-foot facility on Montmorency Way in Geneva in June, with area and state political and economic development leaders taking part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Among funding sources for RealEats was a $2.45 million investment from Excell Partners, manager of the state-backed FLXFWD Venture Fund, a $500,000 grant from Empire State Development and up to $3 million from the Excelsior Jobs Tax Credit Program to fund expansion.
[email protected]/(585) 653-4020
"
