It might not have been intended but the Manteca Chamber of Commerce’s initial Excellence in Business Award and Newcomer’s Business Award recipients at last week’s inaugural State of the City program are prime examples of how business can thrive in the changing Manteca economy.
Creative Arts Zone — 7,500 square feet of creative drama, music, and fine art classes for youth and adult alike  — is tucked away in the Manteca Industrial Park at 1084 Mellon Avenue.
It was selected for the Newcomers’ Business Award.
It is a prime example of how entrepreneurs can tap into Manteca’s growth fueled by Bay Area paychecks and families heading east over the Altamont to find homes and communities to raise their families. Now that Manteca’s median household income has reached $73,543 it is clear there are families with discretionary incomes that can support endeavors and services that would have been risky to try even a decade ago.
Sunnyvalley Meats received the Excellence in Business Award.
Bill and Teva Andreetta didn’t just simply parlay what started 58 years ago as a family meat locker plant into a specialty meat firm but they did so aiming for specific markets such as casinos, restaurants and higher end supermarkets where consumers are willing to pay more for quality.
That has allowed Sunnyvalley Smoked Meats to develop a loyal clientele in much of the western United States as well as western Canada.
The original part of the current 49,730-square-foot processing plant on West Yosemite Avenue directly across from the Lathrop-Manteca Altamont Corridor Express station was built in 2000 with 6,000 square feet of that added in 2010. They are now in the process of adding 38,000 square feet to keep pace with growing demand.
They employ 200 workers to produce quality ham, bacon and turkey.
One business is riding Manteca’s changing demographic wave and the other is profiting from keeping its pulse on changing consumer tastes up to a thousand  miles away from Manteca.