A Youngstown company has gotten a bang out of Wheatland.

BJ Alan/Phantom Fireworks Co. has entered into a two-year lease to occupy 75,000 square feet of the former PJ Schmitt Food Distribution Center on Council Avenue in Wheatland. Under terms of the deal, the company has an option to buy after two years, said Jerry Bostocky, vice president of sales for BJ Alan.

Bostocky, a native of Farrell, said the company is the nation's largest distributor of consumer fireworks and the only domestic manufacturer of sparklers.

"We needed this facility as part of our plans to expand our distribution to different store chains in the United States, like K-mart, Walgreen's, Rite-Aid and Flemming Foods,'' he said.

During the height of the fireworks season, it's expected that 25 to 35 workers will be at the warehouse. That number will be scaled down to a half-dozen or so during the off-season.

Stocking the warehouse will begin within a week.

"We have a lot of work to do in a very short time,'' Bostocky said. "This is going to be our largest warehouse.''

He added that the warehouse would contain only consumer-grade fireworks and the location would not be used for retail sales. Since the warehouse is located in a Keystone Opportunity Zone, the company may consider building a much larger warehouse at the location if all goes well, Bostocky said.

Privately owned by Bruce Zoldan, of Youngstown, the 28-year-old company also operates under the Phantom Fireworks name and has two stores in Pennsylvania: near Erie and Breezewood. Under state law, such stores can't sell to state residents and can sell only sparklers and novelty items. The company has 1,000 temporary locations on the West Coast.