By Laura D.C. Kolnoski
OCEANPORT – MGT Foods, a third-generation industrial food science, production and distribution company, became the third and final food-related business to commence operations in Fort Monmouth’s redeveloped former Commissary on Oceanport Way. It is expected to be fully operational within 30 days.
Joining Birdsmouth Brewery, which opened a year ago, and Baseline Social, a multilevel sports bar and event space debuting earlier this month, MGT Foods rounds out the vision of the building’s developer, Denholtz Properties of Red Bank, to keep the Commissary – a grocery and supply store that once served thousands of military personnel – as a food and beverage-focused facility open to the public.
MGT Foods was still putting the finishing touches on its 25,000-square-foot facility at press time. It includes features the owners long desired but couldn’t create at their Keyport headquarters. The once-small business expanded in recent years, taking on co-manufacturing, co-packaging, and distribution for major food brands and private labels.
After learning of the Commissary’s availability, MGT Foods CEO Richard Emanuele, wife Lori, head of accounting, and their son and company vice president Michael, toured the space and deemed it ideal for their growing needs. Not only did Richard’s father Santo, the business’s founder, fly B-17 bombers for the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, but Michael began his career as a mechanical engineer for the U.S. Defense Department before joining the family business in 2009.
The late Santo Emanuele was already in the grocery business in Brooklyn when he founded Mr. Green Tea Ice Cream in 1968, developing what was then considered exotic flavors like green tea, red bean and ginger primarily for Asian restaurants. Today, the firm’s ice creams and mochi are sold in restaurants (some Michelin-starred and Zagat-rated), grocery stores and event spaces nationwide.
In Monmouth County their products are served at Teak in Red Bank, Taka in Asbury Park and Yumi in Sea Bright, among others. The firm also consults for Nicholas Creamery, which has locations in Atlantic Highlands, Fair Haven, Long Branch and Tinton Falls. The public cannot purchase directly from MGT’s new plant.
The company also produces The Bear & The Rat Cool Treats for Dogs, featured on the television show “Shark Tank,” along with specialty and novelty products for national and international firms they cannot disclose.
“The idea is to be able to manufacture a lot of products while still being accessible to mom-and-pops that need manufacturing facilities,” said Michael as he led a tour for The Two River Times. “The high-tech, exacting process we use emphasizes food safety, production speed, quality and cost savings that are attracting big businesses. We can even make broth and are talking to other companies about new, innovative products and packaging types.”
As gleaming new stainless steel equipment sat ready for use, Michael explained how an onsite microbiology lab off the production room with environmental monitoring systems ensures food safety, monitoring harmful bacteria throughout production. Vacuum form seal (VFS), a proprietary in-house engineered process, gives MGT Foods the ability to mold logos and cartoon characters, brands and likenesses into each novelty.
Nearby, a blast freezer that Michael described as “a conveyor belt stuffed in a freezer” will have five total production lines, while there is also a section dedicated to packaging equipment. “It’s all physics and chemistry,” he said. “The faster you freeze ice cream the creamier and higher quality it will be.”
The new location will have about 25-30 employees who can avail themselves of a separate entrance, lounge and bathrooms. A “buffer room” allows employees and visitors to sanitize before entering the manufacturing area, donning booties, hairnets and lab coats.
Michael is especially proud of the main kitchen just inside the front doors which features a 20-foot island suitable for client tastings and events with an adjacent conference room.
“We wanted to make it look beautiful,” he said, adding the family chose all the interior finishes. “Food brings us together, that’s the idea of this space.”
Offices in the upstairs loft will provide co-working space and can be utilized by different brand clients in various ways, Michael said.
After many years in Colts Neck, Richard and Lori now reside in Red Bank, while Michael, a graduate of Colts Neck High School and Villanova University, lives in Asbury Park. Richard said the growth and success of the company since its founding is “hard to wrap my brain around.”
“I could never have imagined we’d be at this level owning three facilities and manufacturing for some of the largest companies in the world,” he reflected. “My dad would be so proud. I think about that a lot. We’re very lucky. We made some bad decisions, but we caught our failures early enough to work through and made the wins big.”
His son nodded, adding, “Keep your losses small and ride your wins.”
This article originally appeared in the November 2 – 8, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
