WASHINGTON — For over a year, Austrian-born Helene Gallent has been selling freshly baked strudels at local farmers markets, working out of shared commercial kitchen ChefScape in Ashburn, Virginia. Now, Gallent is breaking out on her own.
Little Austria plans to grow beyond farmers markets to new retail and wholesale markets. With the help of a state grant, Little Austria will invest $371,000 to build a new commercial bakery in Sterling, and create five new jobs in the process.
“Little Austria was started in 2017 with the idea to bring traditional Austrian strudels made with high quality local ingredients to market,” Gallent said.
Gallent also commits to sourcing apples from Virginia growers. “With this generous grant, we will be able to expand that vision while supporting our local, hard-working produce growers,” she said.
Virginia is partnering with the Loudoun County Economic Development Authority through the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development Fund for a $13,700 grant. Loudoun County is matching the grant with local funds, pending a vote by the county board of supervisors.
Little Austria strudels can currently be found at nearly a dozen farmers markets around the Washington area.
