FITCHBURG — A Fitchburg factory once home to the Wachusett Potato Chip Co. will shut down this December, resulting in 62 layoffs.
The factory is currently owned by Real Food From the Ground Up, a company known for making vegetable-based snacks such as cheddar cauliflower veggie crackers and cauliflower sea salt puffed veggie stalks.
The company filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act layoff and closure update on Oct. 20, with the intention to close the factory on 759 Water St. A total of 62 layoffs will occur on Dec. 15, according to the WARN notice. A WARN notice letter indicates the factory will also close on Dec. 15.
A spokesperson for Real Food From the Ground Up and its parent company, Our Home, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.
The factory at 759 Water St. used to be the Fitchburg County Jail. When the Wachusett Potato Chip Company moved its operations from Clinton to Fitchburg in the 1940s, the historic jail was turned into a chip-making factory.
The Wachusett Potato Chip Company sold chips and other snacks under its label until 2011, when it was sold to the Pennsylvania-based company Utz Quality Foods Inc.
As part of the sale, Utz bought the Wachusett Potato Chip factory. In 2024, the company sold the factory to Our Home.
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