Milton will soon unveil a new Chef Boyardee statue from Hometown Food Company this Saturday.

MILTON, Pa. — A wrapped-up statue at the corner of Arch and Mahoning Streets in Milton may not look like anything special right now.

However, in just a few days, it will be unveiled. Who is under the wrapping, you may ask? Well, it’s none other than Chef Boyardee.

“It’s great to have such a local, hometown success story that’s now a global brand, and everyone knows Chef Boyardee,” said Jessie Novinger, Milton Borough Manager

But this isn’t the first Chef Boyardee statue in the borough. In 2013, Con Agra Foods, which previously owned the Boyardee brand, unveiled the first statue. Now the new owners, Hometown Food Company, are gifting Milton a statue of Chef Boyardee that was at the Con Agra Foods campus in Omaha, Nebraska.

“Hometown Foods, who is the new buyer of Conagra, actually reached out to us and offered to bring the statue here, and of course, we were more than happy to have something that was more public-facing so that people could take those quirky, fun photos and bring people to Milton,” said Novinger. 

Hometown Food Company says Chef Boyardee is based on a real Italian American chef named Hector Boiardi, who built his pasta empire right here in Milton and launched the plant in 1938, making culinary history.

Novinger says Hometown Food Company plans to keep the other Chef Boyardee statue at the Milton plant. This new one will be more accessible for the public to see and get photos with. 

“I think the original statue being on Hometown Food property is a little discouraging. You’re not sure if you’re supposed to or allowed to be there, so having one here on Arch Street where you can park easily in the municipal parking lot and hop out and get your photo taken, I think, is great for people,” said Novinger. 

After the statue is unveiled, the borough says they want to work with Hometown Foods to do a social media marketing campaign.

“They had suggested Instagram and things like that, so I’m sure you’ll see some hashtags coming in the future,” said Novinger. 

If you’re interested in coming to the unveiling of the Chef Boyardee statue, it will take place this Saturday, September 13, at 10 a.m. in Milton.