EDMONDS — Privately held seafood producer Keyport is moving its corporate headquarters from Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood to Edmonds.
The new headquarters at 654 Fifth Ave. S, Suite 300, in Edmonds, will include a commercial demonstration and test kitchen along with additional office space to allow for future growth.
“We’re just excited to move into Edmonds where we can have a greater impact on the community and contribute to growing the area,” said Mark Pedersen, Keyport’s president and CEO. “We just see it as real positive for us and hopefully it’s positive for everybody.”
Keyport will occupy about 5,000-square-feet of space in a mixed-use building. The company’s employee count fluctuates with the fishing season, but Pedersen said about 40 employees will work at the headquarters. The family business does not release annual sales but said it’s a multi-million-dollar company.
Keyport specializes in king, snow and Dungeness crab and also has a growing line of products such as seafood macaroni and cheese, seafood ravioli and chowders.
“We’re one of the largest producers and marketers of king crab in the U.S.,” Pedersen said. “If you go to QFC or stores like that, it will likely be our king crab.”
Keyport, which was started by Pedersen’s father, has been based in Ballard for 20 years. Pedersen said that a challenging business climate in Seattle precipitated the move.
Problems included increased traffic, a homeless camp that opened for a time next to his business and anti-business rhetoric from City Hall, as well as the $15 minimum wage enacted by the city.
In addition to the Edmonds headquarters, the company opened a new sales office in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in 2015. It also has multiple nationwide distribution as well as processing facilities around Bellingham and Norway.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.keyportllc.com.
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