End of a relation-chip: Iconic Golden Flake snack factory to close in Birmingham

Ken Roberts, The Tuscaloosa News
·3 min read
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Golden Flake, a brand of snack foods long associated with University of Alabama athletics, will no longer make its products in Alabama, according to The Associated Press.

Pennsylvania-based Utz Brands said the longtime Golden Flake factory in Birmingham will close in early July and around 175 workers will be laid off.  About 100 employees will continue to work at a new distribution warehouse in Birmingham.

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Golden Flake's potato chips, tortilla chips, corn chips, cheese curls. fried pork skins and other snacks will continue to be sold in Alabama and throughout the Southeast, just produced elsewhere, Utz said.

Utz Brands said it will close the longtime Golden Flake snack factory in Birmingham and lay off 175 workers.
Utz Brands said it will close the longtime Golden Flake snack factory in Birmingham and lay off 175 workers.

“The decision reflects the company’s dedication to network optimization and cost containment,” Utz, based in Hanover, Pennsylvania, wrote in a filing to investors.

Utz bought Golden Enterprises, the former owner of Golden Flake, for $141 million in 2016. The brand was founded in 1923 in the basement of a north Birmingham grocery store.

Golden Flake's ties to Alabama football date back at least 63 years.

Most recently, Golden Flake was one of the main sponsors of the A-Day game, Alabama's spring football game, held April 22 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa.

'Great Pair Says the Bear'

From 1960 until 1982, Golden Flake sponsored Alabama football coach Paul W. "Bear" Bryant's television show.

Each episode of the show, a replay of Saturday's UA game highlights that aired on Sundays throughout Alabama, began with Bryant and his co-host opening a bag of Golden Flake chips and bottles of Coca-Cola.

The two sponsors teamed up with Bryant for a memorable advertising campaign. Billboards, refrigerator magnets and other promotional items had images of Bryant, a Coca-Cola bottle and a bag of Golden Flake chips with the slogan "Great Pair Says the Bear."

Golden Flake produced this souvenir potato chip canister to commemorate the University of Alabama's 2015 national championship in football.
Golden Flake produced this souvenir potato chip canister to commemorate the University of Alabama's 2015 national championship in football.

While Bryant's show helped make Golden Flake an iconic brand in Alabama, the Birmingham Golden Flake factory was also a popular field trip destination. Countless schoolchildren toured the factory and sampled chips fresh from the fryer.

Kevin Brick, vice president of Utz Foods, told AL.com his company still has a commitment to Golden Flake and Birmingham.

“The Golden Flake brand remains an important part of Utz’s portfolio, and our product offerings and partnerships under this banner are not changing,” Brick said. “We will continue to have a presence in Birmingham and will stay an active part of the community.”

Utz said it would spend $3 million to $5 million on the closure of the Birmingham factory, including $1.5 million in employee severance payments, with the rest being spent to transfer production. The company said it “expects no distribution or availability issues” because of the factory closing. The company said it would also mark down the value of its assets by $8.5 million to $11 million.

Besides Utz and Golden Flake, the company sells snack foods under other brands including On The Border, Zapp’s, Good Health, Boulder Canyon and Hawaiian Brand.

Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Golden Flake to close longtime Birmingham snack food factory