Oct 16, 2025 By Paul Paterra 3 min read

Facing a civil lawsuit for allegedly defaulting on nearly $90 million in loans, Fourth Street Barbecue Inc. will shut down its food processing plant at the end of the month, putting 252 employees out of work and dealing another blow to the Mon Valley.

Founded in 2014, the company, also known as Fourth Street Foods, manufactures frozen food products for branded and private label retailers throughout the United States. The company has facilities in Fallowfield Township and Speers, but has Charleroi mailing addresses.

“It was kind of a surprise, out of nowhere,” said Kristin Hopkins, Charleroi council president. “It’s been one thing after another for Charleroi. Of course, the plant is not located in the borough, but it directly affects the economy, housing, food insecurity and the work force in Charleroi. It’s another devastating blow. It’s unfortunate that we have another situation where about 250 people will be unemployed.”

Earlier this month, Huntingdon Bank sued Fourth Street Foods in federal court, alleging the business defaulted on an $85 million loan, plus two others that total $4,174,002.19. According to the suit, Fourth Street Foods took out the loans between September 2022 and earlier this year

The suit seeks repayment of the nearly $90 million in loans, including accrued and unpaid interest through the resolution of the case, attorney fees and court costs.

A Chicago-based law firm also is investigating whether the business violated the Worker Adjustment and Retaining and Notification Act (WARN), alleging Fourth Street Foods did not give the 252 workers at the facility adequate notice of the decision to close.

The federal act requires businesses that employ more than 100 people to give employees at least 60 days’ notice before a plant closure or mass layoffs take effect.

Businesses that do not adhere to those requirements may be ordered to pay the affected employees 60 days of severance and benefits, according to the Oct. 10 posting from the law firm Strauss Borelli PLLC. Fourth Street Foods owners gave the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry notice of the closure on Oct. 9, according to the posting.

According to the WARN notice, the closure will take place at the plant on Arentzen Boulevard in Speers, which is considered the south facility.

Curtis Rice, president of Speers council, wasn’t aware of the closure until Tuesday.

“That’s going to have a big effect,” he said Wednesday. “We’re a small community. We have about 1,200 residents, and probably more than half of our residents are senior citizens on fixed incomes. We depend on these businesses for their taxes and (to employ local residents). With them closing, it’s going to hurt us tremendously.”

A Fourth Street Foods employee said CEO Chris Scott is out of town throughout the rest of the week.

The news comes on the heels of the closings of the World Kitchen Plant, which produced its last glass product in April after being in operation for 132 years, and the Quality Pasta Co., which closed in 2024.

“That was a huge employer here for a lot of the citizens of Charleroi,” said Joe Manning, Charleroi borough manager. “Between the glass plant closing and the pasta factory and now with Fourth Street closing, it’s not good for the region for sure.”