Last updated on March 25th, 2021 at 07:23 pm
Artuso Pastry Foods Corp., an iconic Bronx, New York-based baker and wholesaler, is finally getting back to normal and is even ready to expand following a devastating fire in November 2014.
Although its main retail location in the Bronx was not affected, rebuilding a new manufacturing facility and handling all the insurance matters has taken a great deal of time, energy and endurance for the Artuso family the past three years.
The fire at the Mt. Vernon manufacturing plant was considered a total loss. Another famous New York City baker, Zaro’s, helped Artuso’s with some manufacturing space, but the bakery’s wholesale business was halted for a year.
“The fire was like a major sock in the jaw. It certainly tested our team’s will. We all had a lot of sleepless nights. But our internal team and family gave us the energy and will to come back,” said CEO Anthony Artuso Jr.
The 35,000-s.f. facility was rebuilt in a nearby abandoned building in Mt. Vernon and, according to Anthony Jr., it has more storage and production space. The facility ships products to nearly 80 distributors coast to coast who, in turn, supply supermarkets, foodservice establishments, and club and specialty stores.
The manufacturing facility is Safe Quality Food (SQF) Level 2 certified. This is a globally recognized food safety and sanitation program that holds participants to the highest of food safety standards.
Anthony Jr. is very proud to note that during the year the manufacturing plant was off-line, not one of the 51 employees was laid off, and all employees were paid their regular wages.
The new Mt. Vernon plant ships cannoli, Sfogliatelle and lobster tails. Flat cannoli products, popular in the 1950s, are returning to the Artuso plant, and the relaunch will take place around late September.
Millennial consumers are making Cannoli Crisps a popular snack, having found that they’re easy to eat at social events.
Anthony Jr. says full production has resumed, and the company is now considering adding another site by the end of 2018.
Italian roots
The Artuso family business tale began in 1930, when 11-year-old Vincent Artuso Sr., his sisters Anna and Victoria, and brother, Jack, left their native Reggio di Calabria, Italy, and headed for America, settling in the mainly-Italian Belmont section of the Bronx, also known as Arthur Avenue.
All the children worked to help the family, but as Vincent diligently built Depression-era shoeshine boxes, he yearned for something more. He took a job washing pots and pans at Spagnuolo’s Pastry Shop on East 187th Street and was able to pursue his passion by training as a pastry chef. When he returned from his service in World War II, Vincent purchased the shop and renamed it Artuso Pastry.
Vincent set about growing his family as well as Artuso’s with Jack and Anna by his side. In 1957, Vincent and Jack opened a Mount Vernon location, which later relocated to Thornwood, New York. In 1965, Anna opened a store in Yonkers.
Vincent’s sons Anthony Sr. and Joseph run the business alongside Anthony’s son, Anthony Jr., who manages the wholesale facility in Mount Vernon, and Anthony’s daughter Concetta, among other family members.
“We always try to hire from within the community because that’s what builds up the tree from the roots,” said Anthony Jr.
In 2005, the Artuso family was inducted in the Westchester County Hall of Fame for Family Business Success. Other honors include Inc. Magazine’s Inner City 100 Award, an “Excellent” rating for nine consecutive years in the Zagat Survey and the Golden Apple Award for food safety and sanitation excellence.
To this day, when one travels to the Belmont section, also known as the “Little Italy of the Bronx,” Artuso Pastry’s flagship store can be found right where Vincent opened it in 1946, much as it was then, but with a couple of notable changes. The store was tripled in size in 1974 to take up half a city block, and in 1996 the street on the shop’s corner was officially renamed Vincent F. Artuso Sr. Way.
The 4,500-s.q. retail bakery carries a full line of Italian pastries as well as cookies and specialty cakes. With the advent of televised cooking and baking shows, Anthony Jr. believes there is a resurgence in people interested in baking and pastry.
“People tell us ‘my child wants to be a baker.’ That’s music to our ears,” said Anthony Jr. “Because of this, we have seen a jump in our product line.”
Anthony Jr. noted another popular item in the grab-and-go section of the bakery case is filled cannolis.
“They are on pace to beat traditional cannoli sales. People are looking for convenience. People don’t have time to wait,” he said.
Anthony Jr. said the company’s mission is not completed.
“My grandfather dreamed that one day our company would be a force, a staple, in the American dessert business—a household name.”
