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Our Family History
The Sanfillipo family has been providing produce to the greater Columbus area, if you can believe it, for at least part of the last three centuries. Our name and family history remain the driving force behind our commitment to providing high quality produce and superior customer service.
1899 Salvatore SanFilippo arrives in Columbus from Porto Empedocle Sicily. A cousin sets him up with a retail stand inside the old West Side City Market. Shortly after, Salvatore purchases a horse and wagon to haul his produce and begins delivering to small restaurants and stores.
1905 – Giuseppe (Joe) SanFilippo arrives at Ellis Island with his mother and brother Gerlando on Thanksgiving Day. Joe and family join his father in Columbus after a federal worker at Ellis Island sanfilippo familychanges the spelling of our last name to Sanfillipo. Joe’s father Salvatore puts Joe to work immediately by placing a nap sack filled with lemons on his back. The boy goes up and down High St, 4th St., & Broad St. into every bar until all were sold.
1911 – Salvatore dies and Joe takes over his father’s business at 17 years old to support his mother and four younger siblings.
1917 – Joe joins the U.S. Army and fights in France until the end of the war in 1918
1947 – After Joe’s two sons (Joe Jr. and Jim Sr.) come back safely from serving in the Navy in WWII, they take over their father’s produce business.
1953 Jim and Joe split their accounts and each start their own produce business.
1957 – Jim Sr. leaves produce and starts a home improvement business.
1962 – Joe becomes partners with Joe Mercurio Sr., Tri State Potato Co.
1970 – Joe goes into business with his oldest son Dan and they start Sanfillipo Bros.
1974 – Joe’s youngest son Tom joins the business until 1978.
1979 – Jim Jr. joins uncle Joe’s business as a salesman.
1982 – Jim leaves Sanfillipo Bros. on good terms and starts James Sanfillipo Produce Co.
1984 – Jim and wife Margie purchase a 10,000 sq ft warehouse in downtown Columbus.
1996 – Jim and oldest son Jamie (James III) become partners and call it Sanfillipo Produce Co. Inc.
2002 – Jamie’s first daughter (Maria) is born on September 20th.
2004 – Jim & Jamie move to the Columbus Terminal Produce Market on 5th Ave.
2007 – Sanfillipo adds 2 more units on the market.
2007 – Jamie’s second daughter (Gina) is born on November 10th.
2011 – Sanfillipo adds 3 more units on the market for a total of 7 or 14,000 sq. ft.
2011 – Jamie’s third daughter (Julia) is born on February 1st.
2012 – Sanfillipo adds 2 more units on the market for a total of 9 units or 18,000 sq. ft.
2014- Sanfillipo Produce acquires Macaluso Fruit & the Columbus Produce Terminal
2015- Sanfillipo Produce developed Ohio 1st, a local procurement program to support Ohio growers
2016- Macaluso merges into Sanfillipo Produce combining two of Columbus’s oldest produce families
The Sanfillipo family is the oldest produce family in Columbus since 1899. Five generations of Sanfillipos have served Columbus and it may be six if any of the granddaughters choose the business.
1899 Salvatore SanFilippo arrives in Columbus from Porto Empedocle Sicily. A cousin sets him up with a retail stand inside the old West Side City Market. Shortly after, Salvatore purchases a horse and wagon to haul his produce and begins delivering to small restaurants and stores.
1905 – Giuseppe (Joe) SanFilippo arrives at Ellis Island with his mother and brother Gerlando on Thanksgiving Day. Joe and family join his father in Columbus after a federal worker at Ellis Island sanfilippo familychanges the spelling of our last name to Sanfillipo. Joe’s father Salvatore puts Joe to work immediately by placing a nap sack filled with lemons on his back. The boy goes up and down High St, 4th St., & Broad St. into every bar until all were sold.
1911 – Salvatore dies and Joe takes over his father’s business at 17 years old to support his mother and four younger siblings.
1917 – Joe joins the U.S. Army and fights in France until the end of the war in 1918
1947 – After Joe’s two sons (Joe Jr. and Jim Sr.) come back safely from serving in the Navy in WWII, they take over their father’s produce business.
1953 Jim and Joe split their accounts and each start their own produce business.
1957 – Jim Sr. leaves produce and starts a home improvement business.
1962 – Joe becomes partners with Joe Mercurio Sr., Tri State Potato Co.
1970 – Joe goes into business with his oldest son Dan and they start Sanfillipo Bros.
1974 – Joe’s youngest son Tom joins the business until 1978.
1979 – Jim Jr. joins uncle Joe’s business as a salesman.
1982 – Jim leaves Sanfillipo Bros. on good terms and starts James Sanfillipo Produce Co.
1984 – Jim and wife Margie purchase a 10,000 sq ft warehouse in downtown Columbus.
1996 – Jim and oldest son Jamie (James III) become partners and call it Sanfillipo Produce Co. Inc.
2002 – Jamie’s first daughter (Maria) is born on September 20th.
2004 – Jim & Jamie move to the Columbus Terminal Produce Market on 5th Ave.
2007 – Sanfillipo adds 2 more units on the market.
2007 – Jamie’s second daughter (Gina) is born on November 10th.
2011 – Sanfillipo adds 3 more units on the market for a total of 7 or 14,000 sq. ft.
2011 – Jamie’s third daughter (Julia) is born on February 1st.
2012 – Sanfillipo adds 2 more units on the market for a total of 9 units or 18,000 sq. ft.
2014- Sanfillipo Produce acquires Macaluso Fruit & the Columbus Produce Terminal
2015- Sanfillipo Produce developed Ohio 1st, a local procurement program to support Ohio growers
2016- Macaluso merges into Sanfillipo Produce combining two of Columbus’s oldest produce families
The Sanfillipo family is the oldest produce family in Columbus since 1899. Five generations of Sanfillipos have served Columbus and it may be six if any of the granddaughters choose the business.
