Rose Totino

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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.

Life and career[]

After dropping out of school at age 16 to support her family by cleaning houses, in 1934 she married James R. "Jim" Totino (1911 – 1981) and remained married until his death by heart attack while vacationing in Las Vegas, Nevada.[1]

They opened their own pizzeria in Minneapolis in 1951, later expanded from take-out only to Totino's Kitchen with table service. In 1962, they started Totino's Finer Foods in St. Louis Park, Minnesota and began mass production of frozen pizzas. 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.[2][3]

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.[4]

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.[5] Totino died of cancer at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.[6] She was inducted into the Minnesota Inventors Hall of Fame in 2008.

References[]

  1. ^ Associated Press (December 16, 1981). James Totino.
  2. ^ Associated Press (September 13, 1976). Pizza magnate was poor.
  3. ^ Staff report (October 15, 1975). Pillsbury to Acquire Totino's Pizza Firm For $20.3 Million. Wall Street Journal
  4. ^ Horner, Sarah (June 8, 2011). Totino's Italian Kitchen in Mounds View to close after 60 years. St. Paul Pioneer Press
  5. ^ Our Mission (n.d.).[1] NET Ministries
  6. ^ Staff report (June 23, 1994). Rose Totino, 79, Frozen-Pizza Maker. New York Times
  • Swanson, Walter (1989). Minneapolis: City of Enterprise, Center of Excellence : A contemporary portrait. Windsor Publications, Inc. p. 79. ISBN 0-89781-292-1.

External links[]


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