Yo Mama's Foods, the Clearwater-born condiment company founded by David Habib in 2017, is getting a new home in North Greenwood after the Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency approved a $2 million sale of the former National Guard armory at 706 N. Missouri Ave.

The CRA board voted Monday, Aug. 3, to finalize the sale and redevelopment agreement with St. Benedict Holdings LLC, according to the agency's meeting recap. The deal requires the buyer to put the roughly 18,500-square-foot property into commercial use within 120 days of closing and keep it operating for at least 15 years.

The agreement commits the company to creating up to 30 full-time positions, with a goal of hiring at least 10 North Greenwood residents. Yo Mama's Foods plans to promote openings through CareerSource and explore internships, apprenticeships and technical-college partnerships. Company representatives told the CRA board that two employees have already been hired, three positions remain open and 10 local students participated in summer internships.

Planned uses for the site include warehousing and distribution, light manufacturing and packaging, corporate offices and training, and research and development. The company also plans to consolidate some logistics functions currently based in Chicago, according to an April CRA presentation reported by Tampa Bay Business & Wealth. That presentation pegged total investment at approximately $5 million and projected $45,000 to $55,000 in annual CRA tax increment revenue once the site is operational.

The developer is required to use reasonable best efforts to preserve and adaptively reuse the historic armory building.

"We're a Clearwater-born company, and we very much want to stay here," Habib told the CRA board in April, when trustees first voted to authorize negotiations for the sale.

The deal drew pushback earlier this year. At the April 20 meeting, as Tampa Bay Business & Wealth reported, North Greenwood resident Kimberly Brown said the community had only learned of the proposal weeks earlier. Kinard Robinson, a Clearwater business owner and member of the North Greenwood Citizens Advisory Committee, asked for more time and inclusion in the process. The final agreement's community hiring commitment addresses some of those concerns.

Yo Mama's Foods sells pasta sauces, dressings and condiments in approximately 25,000 stores nationwide and exports to 20 countries, according to company materials. In September 2025, the brand landed 36,000 orders in 45 seconds during an appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America." The company currently operates from 1125 Eldridge St. in Clearwater.

No closing date has been announced. Once the sale closes, the 120-day clock to begin commercial operations starts running.