Ground broken in Worcester for new Table Talk Pies building
By Aaron Nicodemus
Telegram & Gazette Staff
WORCESTER — In six months or so, Table Talk Pies will have a new, modern manufacturing building in South Worcester.
Table Talk, which currently bakes 2 million 4-inch snack pies and 400,000 regular sized pies per week at its facility in Kelley Square, will occupy a new 50,000-square foot facility being built by a Worcester development firm, Chacharone Properties. Once built, the facility will employ 80 workers and crank out thousands of pies an hour.
“My only regret is that my father and grandfather can’t be here to witness this great day,” said Table Talk Pies owner Harry Kokkinis, who represents the third generation of his family to run the company. “Not only are we able to build the type of building that Table Talk needs to expand, but it’s also in the place we want to be. … Worcester is so important to us, it has given us so much.”
Table Talk was founded in 1924 by Greek immigrants Theodore Tonna, Mr. Kokkinis’ grandfather, and Angelo Cotsidas. After being sold in 1965 to Beechnut, the company changed hands several times before closing down in 1984. In 1986, Mr. Tonna’s son-in-law, Christo Cocaine (whose name had changed from the original Kokkinis) reopened Table Talk, focusing on selling snack pies to grocers and convenience stores. In 2016, the business is expected to earn nearly $100 million in sales, with 300 full-time and seasonal employees.
And now, Table Talk Pies will be able to keep growing in the city in which it was born.
