Meat processor to build $1.7M Prince Edward facility

A halal meat business, 5 Pillar Meats, will invest more than $1.7 million to build an abattoir and red meat processing facility in Prince Edward County, a project expected to create 12 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Thursday.

The new building, which will be located on a 3-acre site in the Prince Edward County Business Park in Farmville, will be nearly 3,000 square feet. It will provide processing services for Southside Virginia livestock producers, focusing on beef, lamb and goats.

The Prince Edward-based 5 Pillar Meats is an extension of Green Bay-based Abdus-Sabur Farms, which has produced livestock and vegetables since 1982, according to 5 Pillar Meats Chief Operations Officer Sekou Abdus-Sabur. This project will be the company’s first meat processing facility.

5 Pillar Meats will have two sources of meats: animals harvested in the facility and meat purchased from a local wholesale distributor, Abdus-Sabur said in a statement. Animals harvested will be halal, meaning prepared in a way that is sanctioned by Islamic law, unless a customer specifically asks that the meat not be halal.

The company, which will source its livestock from Virginia farms, will offer wholesale and retail cuts processing to restaurants, hotels, grocers and retail consumers, especially those seeking halal meats. The company will also sell fresh cut meats at its small on-site retail store.

“We are happy to have the opportunity to offer this service to small and large producers alike who have had limited access to USDA-inspected processing of their livestock. Now, both will be able to market to the public,” 5 Pillar Meats CEO Qadir Abdus-Sabur said in a statement. “Families, local restaurants, hotels and others can enjoy locally raised, harvested and processed meat/meat products. We look forward to serving our community.”

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services worked with the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission, Prince Edward County and the county’s Industrial Development Authority to secure the project. Youngkin approved a $50,000 grant from the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development Fund, which the county will match locally. The Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission is granting the project $75,000.

“I thank 5 Pillar Meats for their investment in Farmville and in Southside Virginia livestock producers,” Youngkin said in a statement. “This is the type of project that the AFID grant program was designed for as it creates rural jobs, encourages economic development and promotes agriculture, Virginia’s largest private industry.”