Charlie the Tuna is coming to Northern Virginia. StarKist Co. will invest $3.6 million to relocate its Pittsburgh corporate and administrative headquarters to Reston.
It will lease 24,000 square feet in Boston Properties’ 1875 Explorer Street in Reston Town Center. The move will create 83 new jobs, according to announcements from Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s office and the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority.
It will complete the relocation in April 2022.
StarKist will receive assistance from the Virginia Jobs Investment Program, which provides consulting services and funding to companies creating new jobs.
“I believe the move to Virginia will provide an outstanding work environment for our employees, as well as an opportunity to expand the StarKist business in the years ahead,” said StarKist president and CEO Andrew Choe.
StarKist was founded in 1917 as the French Sardine Company of California, and changed its name to StarKist in 1953, (Charlie the Tuna showed up in 1961). StarKist is owned by Dongwon Industries Co., Ltd., South Korea’s largest fishing company, which acquired it from Del monte Foods in 2008.