Buddy's Kitchen, Inc., Minneapolis, acquired the former Arden Kitchens frozen food facility in Lakeville, Minn.

"We're growing rapidly and need the extra space to accommodate that growth," says Dave Smith, chief executive officer. “We have almost eight years left on the Burnsville [Minn.] lease, and plan to operate both facilities for the foreseeable future."

Buddy's Kitchen manufactures custom frozen food for specialty foodservice operators. It currently employs over 300 people at its Burnsville plant, and expects to add up to 150 more when it opens the 92,000-square-foot Lakeville facility in early 2017, after extensive renovations. 

Renovation to the 45-year-old building consists of repairs to the freezers, coolers and other specialized equipment that have been sitting idle since 2013.