Heart of Business
Holly Poultry: Growing Opportunity in Maryland
Sep 14, 2026
When businesses grow, they create opportunities for people to grow with them. And when those businesses choose to invest here — like Holly Poultry — Maryland's communities and economy grow stronger, too.
For Holly Poultry, Maryland isn't just where they do business. It's home.
The family-owned company got its start in 1989 in a small, 10,000-square-foot facility on Warwick Avenue in West Baltimore. More than three decades later, Holly Poultry has grown to three facilities in the region, employs approximately 560 people and is continuing to invest in its future in Maryland.
Its newest chapter is an 80,000-square-foot facility in Anne Arundel County — a major expansion that gives the company room to grow its retail brands and fabrication operations.
But the decision to make that investment in Maryland wasn't automatic.
As Holly Poultry searched for its next facility, company leaders considered locations outside the state, including Virginia. Anne Arundel County ultimately offered the right fit: a facility that met the company's needs, proximity to its existing Baltimore operations and workforce, and the support system that helped the company make its expansion here.
For a company deeply rooted in the region, staying close to its people mattered.
Growth That Creates Opportunity
Holly Poultry's growth can be measured in facilities, square footage and products on grocery store shelves. But its impact is perhaps best understood through the people who have grown alongside it.
One employee began his career at Holly Poultry on the loading dock. When an opportunity opened in maintenance, he took it. With additional training and experience, he became a lead technician and eventually the company's maintenance supervisor.
Today, he's the one hiring employees and giving others the same kinds of opportunities that helped build his career.
“I started on the loading dock,” he said. “Now I'm the maintenance supervisor. I actually get to hire people, give them other shots and opportunities as well.”
That's economic mobility happening one person at a time.
And as Holly Poultry has grown, so have those opportunities. Its workforce has doubled in approximately the last three to four years, reaching roughly 560 employees today.
It's an important connection: the stronger a business becomes, the greater its capacity to invest in its people and create new opportunities.
A growing company can hire more people. It can provide training and pathways for advancement. It can invest in wages and benefits. And it can give employees the chance to build careers, support their families and create greater economic security.
Investing Beyond the Business
The impact of a strong business can extend well beyond its workforce.
For roughly six years, Holly Poultry has consistently donated chicken to So What Else, a nonprofit that rescues food and redistributes it to people facing food insecurity throughout the Baltimore-Washington region.
It's a meaningful partnership in a region where families continue to struggle with access to food — and one that reflects Holly Poultry's investment in the community around it.
Businesses are often discussed in terms of jobs created, taxes paid or economic output generated. Those things matter. But they don't capture the full role businesses can play in their communities.
They sponsor local organizations, donate goods and services, support nonprofits and step in to help address community needs. They employ neighbors and create opportunities for people to build better lives.
For Holly Poultry, being part of the community has grown alongside the business itself.
Choosing Maryland
Holly Poultry's newest facility is a Maryland success story worth celebrating.
A homegrown company needed more room. It considered its options, including locations outside Maryland. And it chose to make its next major investment here.
Anne Arundel County and other local partners helped support the company through the expansion process. Combined with the right facility and proximity to Holly Poultry's existing operations and employees, it helped make Maryland the right choice.
That's what we want to see more of.
But Holly Poultry's story also carries an important message about what it takes to keep growing here.
The company operates in a tight-margin industry. Like businesses across Maryland, it has to balance the resources available for employees, wages, equipment, facilities and future investment.
For CEO Zach Fine, the larger issue is preserving the ability of businesses to make responsible decisions for their employees while remaining financially strong enough to grow. His message to policymakers gets directly to the point:
“Help us grow. Don't put us in a position where we have to go elsewhere.”
It's a request rooted in what Holly Poultry wants to continue doing here: growing its business, investing in its employees and creating more opportunities.
Creating Conditions for Growth
Maryland wants good jobs, rising wages and opportunities for people to build careers and achieve greater economic mobility. We want businesses that invest in their communities. And we want homegrown companies to choose Maryland when it's time to expand.
Holly Poultry shows how closely connected those goals are.
What began in a 10,000-square-foot West Baltimore facility now employs roughly 560 people across three locations. Employees have found opportunities to advance into leadership. A nonprofit has gained a longstanding partner in the fight against food insecurity. And a Maryland company has chosen to make another significant investment here.
These are the ripple effects of business growth.
For policymakers, the opportunity is to create an environment where more businesses have the confidence and capacity to do the same, recognizing that for family-owned and tight-margin businesses, the cumulative cost of doing business affects their ability to hire, invest and expand.
A strong business climate isn't about choosing businesses over workers or communities. Their success is connected.
When businesses grow, they create opportunities for people to grow with them. And when those businesses choose to invest here, Maryland's communities and economy grow stronger, too.
Holly Poultry chose Maryland for this expansion. Let's create the conditions that make Maryland the clear choice for the next one.
That's the Heart of Business.
