|
Rose Totino
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. When selling the company to Pillsbury, Totino was hired as the first female vice president of a Fortune 500 company. BiographyRose 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, and Rose was made vice president.[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 West 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
External links
Information related to Rose Totino |
||||||||||||||||||
