Huy Fong Food's Sriracha plant could relocate to Dallas, Texas pending a visit and tour from Lone Star State officials on Monday.
According to KTTV television in Los Angeles, Huy Fong Foods owner David Tran is considering moving the Irwindale, Calif., facility to another state, after months of courtroom battles with citizens of the Southern California city.
Dallas Representative Jason Villalba said the state's economic group hopes to persuade company employees to move Huy Fong Foods' manufacturing site to Texas.
"Each member of this delegation was carefully selected for their unique areas of expertise. I am confident this group will be able to communicate to Mr. Tran and his colleagues at Huy Fong Foods the benefit of conducting business in the Lone Star State, where frivolous litigation is not businesses as usual and we work with companies to create jobs and opportunity for all," Rep. Villalba said in a release.
Ten states are also reportedly trying to woo Tran's factory over, including Arizona, New Mexico, Alabama, Pennsylvania and Louisiana. Kansas, Ohio, Georgia, Iowa, New Mexico and West Virginia are also in the mix.
Irwindale's City Council deemed the hot sauce production plant a public nuisance in a 4-0 vote on April 10.
An attorney for Sriracha told The Los Angeles Times, the company still aims to remain a prominent force in the hot sauce game.
"The City Council is determined to assert its authority regardless of the status of the odor remediation efforts," John Tate an attorney for Sriracha told The Times.
The Irwindale Council also attempted to institute a second public nuisance guideline - this would allow members to implement new rules if Sriracha does not do so on its own.
Thirty residents living within the vicinity of the plant complained about stinging in their eyes, and throats Nov. 27 The Times reported. Some also said the stench of fresh chiles being ground at the factory gave them headaches. City officials requested a judge shut down the plant, which currently harvests chile peppers.
South Coast Air Quality Management suggests Huy Fong Foods install carbon filters to ease the smell - a measure the company has taken in the past.
