Rose Totino
Rose Totino | |
|---|---|
| Born | Rosenella Winifred Cruciani January 16 1915 |
| Died | June 21 1994 (aged 79)[1] St. Louis Park, Minnesota, United States |
| Occupation | Pizzeria entrepreneur |
| Awards | Minnesota Inventors Hall of Fame |
Rosenella Winifred Cruciani "Rose" Totino (January 16, 1915 – June 21, 1994) was an American entrepreneur and pizzeria owner whose frozen pizza business co-founded with her husband became the foundation for the Totino's brand. After selling the company to Pillsbury, Totino became their first female corporate vice president.
Biography[edit]
Rose dropped out of school at age 16 to support her family by cleaning houses.[2] In 1934 she married James R. Totino (1911 – 1981) and remained married until his death of heart attack while vacationing in Las Vegas, Nevada.[3]
They opened their own pizzeria in Minneapolis in 1951 and later expanded from take-out only to Totino's Kitchen with table service. Totino obtained a patent for her frozen pizza crust.[4] In 1962, they started Totino's Finer Foods in St. Louis Park, Minnesota and began mass production of frozen pizzas.Swanson, Walter (1989). Minneapolis: City of Enterprise, Center of Excellence : A contemporary portrait. Windsor Publications, Inc. p. 79. ISBN 0-89781-292-1. They built a new plant in Fridley, Minnesota in 1971. Demand continued to grow, and they sold their company to Pillsbury in 1975 for about $22 million in Pillsbury stock.[5][6]
Totino's grandson Steve Elwell bought the restaurant in 1987 and moved Totino's Kitchen from its original location in August 2007 to a new location in Mounds View, Minnesota. The new location closed in 2011, ending a 60-year run.[7]
The Totinos were involved in Minnesota charities. Totino-Grace High School in Fridley was renamed in their honor in 1980. They helped finance the Totino Fine Arts Center at University of Northwestern - St. Paul in Roseville, Minnesota and the NET Ministries headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota.[8] Totino died of cancer at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.[9] She was inducted into the Minnesota Inventors Hall of Fame in 2008.
References[edit]
- ^ "Rose Totino obit part 2" Newspapers.com. Star Tribune, June 22, 1994. https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-tribune-rose-totino-obit-part-2/19335188/.
- ^ Enterprising Minnesotans: 150 Years of Business Pioneers. United States: University of Minnesota Press, (n.d.).
- ^ Associated Press (December 16, 1981). James Totino.
- ^ Vare, Ethlie Ann; Ptacek, Greg (2002). Patently female : from AZT to TV dinners : stories of women inventors and their breakthrough ideas. New York: Wiley. pp. 51–52. ISBN 0-471-02334-5. OCLC 47183698.
- ^ Associated Press (September 13, 1976). Pizza magnate was poor.
- ^ Staff report (October 15, 1975). Pillsbury to Acquire Totino's Pizza Firm For $20.3 Million. Wall Street Journal
- ^ Horner, Sarah (June 8, 2011). Totino's Italian Kitchen in Mounds View to close after 60 years. St. Paul Pioneer Press
- ^ Our Mission (n.d.).[1] NET Ministries
- ^ Staff report (June 23, 1994). Rose Totino, 79, Frozen-Pizza Maker. New York Times
External links[edit]
- Rose Totino - 2008 Inductee at the Wayback Machine (archived August 27, 2008) via Minnesota Inventors Hall of Fame
- Bonnie Totino Brenny: My Mother's Legacy via Minnesota Historical Society
- Totino's Italian Kitchen history
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