Holly Poultry has opened an 80,000-square-foot production facility in Hanover, Maryland, creating 140 new full-time jobs as the Baltimore-based poultry processor expands its footprint into consumer retail packaging. The new site, located near Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, will prepare and flavor poultry for grocery-store packaging under the company's Easy Street and One Fine Chicken brands.
According to WBAL-TV, the facility supports Holly Poultry's growing retail business, which relies on poultry supplied by North Carolina-based House of Raeford Farms, a vertically integrated supplier that grows and processes birds across North and South Carolina. Company leadership described the arrangement as central to how the Hanover plant fits into its supply chain. Zachary Fine, CEO of parent company One Fine Family, said Holly Poultry is partnered with a vertically integrated poultry supplier and processes poultry for grocery-store packaging, per the station's report. The Hanover location, Fine noted, also offers convenience for showing the site to suppliers given its proximity to the airport.
From Wholesale Commodity to Grocery Shelves
The Easy Street brand features No Antibiotics Ever fresh chicken thighs seasoned for home cooking, and it already sits on shelves at Giant Food, Harris Teeter, ShopRite, Hannaford, and Shaw's, according to WATTPoultry.com. That retail push builds on a company that has operated in Baltimore for more than 60 years under One Fine Family, led by second-generation owner Fine, per Business Wire. The Hanover campus marks a shift away from Holly Poultry's roots in wholesale commodity processing toward branded products aimed directly at grocery shoppers.
The company's Baltimore footprint includes a South Baltimore facility at 2121 Wicomico Street, the site of the 2025 hazardous-materials incident described below. The Hanover facility represents the company's move into specialized retail operation.
Public Backing and a Timely Jobs Boost
The Hanover expansion drew support from the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation, according to the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation. The company built out the new campus as part of the expansion. Recruitment for the site has been part of that expansion.
The 140 jobs arrive at a pointed moment for Hanover's economy. Defense contractor Amentum announced 382 layoffs at its Hanover site in August, as Hoodline previously reported, making Hanover a key employment hub in the BWI/Fort Meade industrial corridor now absorbing both losses and gains within the same zip code.
Supply Chain and Labor Context
Holly Poultry's reliance on House of Raeford Farms forms part of the upstream supply chain behind the Hanover plant. The supplier provides poultry for Holly Poultry to process and package for grocery stores.
Holly Poultry's Maryland operations include logistics and warehouse work as part of the company's broader food distribution business.
Workplace safety has been a live issue for the company before. In July 2025, Holly Poultry's South Baltimore facility experienced a hazardous materials incident involving elevated carbon dioxide levels that sent five workers to the hospital, as Hoodline reported at the time. That incident prompted joint investigations by city emergency managers, state environment officials, and fire departments.
Community Giving Alongside Growth
Holly Poultry and its parent company operate commercial wholesale distribution alongside the company's expanding retail packaging business centered in Hanover.
