Barbecue products firm to invest $1.4 million in Arkansas manufacturing plant

Cooks BBQ Products is investing $1.4 million to open a manufacturing facility in north Arkansas, which is expected to bring 45 new jobs to the area, state officials said Thursday.

The plant will operate in Pindall under the name O̶z̶a̶r̶k̶ ̶M̶o̶u̶n̶t̶a̶i̶n̶ ̶W̶o̶o̶d̶ ̶P̶r̶o̶d̶u̶c̶t̶s̶ ̶L̶L̶C̶,̶ Ozark Mountain BBQ Products LLC,* according to a news release from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. It is planned to be fully operational by mid-January.

“Arkansas is the ideal location for us thanks to its central location and abundant natural resources that go into our products,” the company’s CEO, Shawn Elbaz, said in a statement.

The company’s array of products includes wood chips, wood chunks, pellets, logs, firewood and barbecue charcoal.

Cooks BBQ Products sells its items under the Coshell brand and private labels at stores such as Trader Joe’s, Publix, Albertsons and Ace Hardware. They are also available online through Amazon.

The company has two other manufacturing facilities in South Carolina and Mexico as well as distribution centers in Texas and Illinois.

Pindall, a town of around 105 residents in Searcy County, is about 120 miles north and west of Little Rock.

*CORRECTION: Cooks BBQ Products' new Arkansas manufacturing plant will operate under the name Ozark Mountain BBQ Products LLC. Because of incorrect information from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, the company was misidentified in a previous version of this story.

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