Fast food chain and food brand White Castle held an event on July 13 to mark the start of an expansion project at its Vandalia, OH retail food manufacturing facility to increase production of frozen packaged sliders.

“Our retail division has been growing steadily over the past 10 years, and we saw huge growth last year as people cooked and ate at home more during the pandemic,” Lisa Ingram, president and chief executive officer of White Castle, said in a company release. “Having more dedicated space to make more sandwiches will enable us to keep up with the increasing demand for our frozen sliders.”

Slated to reach completion in June 2022, the $27 million project will add double the size of the facility to 150,000 sq ft. Some 75 new jobs will be created because of the investment.

The Vandalia plant supplies packaged sliders to retailers across all 50 states.

Sales of frozen food products in the US grew by 21% in 2020 due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report produced by the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) and The Food Industry Association (FIA).