New Table Talk Tax Break Passes Key Hurdle — With Pushback

WORCESTER, MA — A proposed multi-million dollar tax break for Worcester's (and America's) favorite pie company was approved by a key City Council committee on Tuesday night. But the deal was criticized by members of the public because it lacks wage guarantees spelled out under city policy governing tax breaks.

Two weeks ago, Table Talk announced that it would relocate its Kelley Square headquarters to a new building at 58 Gardner St. The facility would be built by Chacharone Properties, and Table Talk would pitch in $12 million of the total $22 million cost. The new headquarters would create 50 new jobs and retain 130 when it opens in 2022, according to the terms of the deal.

To make the deal happen, Worcester negotiated a 20-year tax-increment financing (TIF) deal. Table Talk would pay on average 65 percent of the total annual property taxes due (and down to 40 percent in some years) for a total savings of $4.6 million by 2041.

The deal was up for a vote Tuesday at the City Council's Economic Development committee. Table Talk President Harry Kokkinis told the Councilors that the new headquarters would be more efficient than the Kelley Square facility along Washington Street. The company is also wary of the new Polar Park being built nearby because it might cause transportation issues, Kokkinis said. It's unclear what would happen to Kelley Square factory, but Kokkinis did say the Table Talk Pie Store there would remain.

The new headquarters — with the TIF deal in place — will allow the company to stay competitive and continue selling to low-cost retailers like Walmart and Stop and Shop, Kokkinis said.

"Getting the lowest cost possible is critical for us to stay competitive," he told the Councilors.

But the way the company keeps costs low was an issue for some who attended Tuesday's meeting.

City policy guides pay rates for jobs created by TIF projects. The 2020 rate is $15 per hour, but Table Talk's TIF deal would allow the company to pay entry-level workers $12.50 per hour.

"I think that $15 should be a floor," Martha Assefa, who was part of Worcester's Fight for $15 movement, said on Tuesday. "It's important for us to stand strong on that language."

Kokkinis told the Council that the entry-level jobs would reach the $15 per-hour mark in about two years. Employees get raises between 50 and 75 cents at set increments, plus bonuses. No employee who worked more than 500 hours in 2019 earned less than $15 per hour, Kokkinis said.

Evren O'Laoghaire, who identified himself as a former Table Talk employee, told the Councilors that the company dilutes its workforce with temporary employees. That means a lot of the people working at the new HQ will likely never work long enough at Table Talk to earn $15 per hour, he said.

Kokkinis said that Table Talk does use temps during large-pie season, when the demand for 8 and 12-inche pies rises before Thanksgiving. He couldn't say what share of the company's workforce is temporary.

The proposed headquarters would focus on making those bigger pies. Table Talk's bread-and-butter is the 4-inch pies, which it makes by the millions at a new bakery along Southgate Street — the company got a $2.2 million TIF for that facility in 2017.

Other speakers expressed concern about safety at Table Talk. The company has had 10 complaints since 2010, according to Occupational Safety and Health Administration records. In one 2017 incident, a 53-year-old worker had his fingers amputated, according to OSHA. Kokkinis said the company has since hired a safety director and added new safety training programs.

Worcester Economic Development Director Michael Traynor explained that the city is trying to retain Table Talk so it doesn't go to a nearby town with a lower commercial property tax rate. Without a TIF, Table Talk would pay about $351,000 in property taxes for the new headquarters just in the first year it's open. By comparison, the company paid about $125,000 in property taxes in 2019 for the Kelley Square building, according to city records.

"We thought this was a good package," Traynor said of the TIF deal.

Both the city and Table Talk are also touting how the project will fix a blighted property in south Worcester. The address being used is 58 Gardner St., but the project would take over multiple blighted buildings and a large vacant lot, all of which is considered a contaminated "brownfield."

The Council ultimately voted unanimously to move the TIF deal forward, although chair Candy Mero-Carlson and Councilor Sean Rose expressed displeasure about the lack of a guaranteed $15 minimum wage. The next step will be full City Council approval.