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Kent street gets new name of Oberto Drive

Published 2:08 pm Thursday, May 17, 2018

By Steve Hunter

Kent street gets new name of Oberto Drive
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Kent street gets new name of Oberto Drive
A city of Kent Public Works crew chats with Mayor Dana Ralph and Art Oberto after installing a new street sign Thursday renaming a short section of South 238th Street to Oberto Drive in honor of the jerky company’s 100th anniversary this year. The company’s headquarters and manufacturing facility sit at the end of the street. STEVE HUNTER, Kent Reporter

Oberto Drive is now the official name of a short section of South 238th Street in Kent, just east of the West Valley Highway.

A city Public Works crew installed the sign Thursday as Mayor Dana Ralph, Art Oberto, the chairman emeritus of Oberto and company employees observed. Oberto officials requested that the city rename a portion of the street to help honor the 100th anniversary of the company that produces jerky, pepperoni and other smoked meats. The City Council approved the name change last year.

Constantino Oberto founded the company in 1918 in Seattle before Oberto moved its headquarters in 1978 to Kent. In 1997, Oberto built a new 100,000-square-foot headquarters and manufacturing plant in Kent to replace a smaller facility. The company has about 500 employees.

Oberto paid the cost to change the street sign. The city last renamed a street in 2013 when the upper section of South 228th Street (known as South 231st Way) became Veterans Drive to honor military veterans for their service.

Oberto announced in April that it had been sold to British Columbia-based Premium Brands Holdings, but the headquarters and manufacturing will remain in Kent.

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