T. Marzetti Company

T. Marzetti Company is the specialty-foods business of Lancaster Colony Corporation and one of the largest food and beverage operations based in central Ohio. Its portfolio spans refrigerated and shelf-stable salad dressings, fruit and vegetable dips, condiments, croutons and toppings, frozen breads and rolls, fresh bread products, egg noodles, desserts, glazes, flatbreads, wraps, and specialty foods such as caviar. The business sells products under both the Marzetti name and a broad collection of acquired, licensed, or internally developed brands. The company traces its origins to Teresa and Joseph Marzetti, Italian immigrants who opened an Italian restaurant serving Ohio State University students in Columbus, Ohio, in 1896. Teresa Marzetti, born Teresa Piacentini in Florence in 1878, came to the United States at 18. Following Joseph’s death in 1911, she continued operating the business and opened a second restaurant on Gay Street in 1919. She later remarried Carl Schaufele in 1924. The restaurant became particularly associated with homemade salad dressings, which were sold to customers by mail and eventually became the foundation of the packaged-food operation. The dressings were initially produced in the restaurant’s kitchen. By 1955, the upstairs kitchen had developed into a full-scale factory, and the Marzetti dressing line was entering grocery stores throughout Ohio. Employee Katharine Hill is credited with creating the dressing line. During the late 1960s, the company built a larger dressing plant in Columbus’s Clintonville neighborhood, serving customers that included Kmart, Big Bear Stores, and Kroger. Teresa Marzetti died in 1972, after which the restaurant closed, but the food manufacturing business continued. Over time, T. Marzetti expanded beyond its original dressing franchise. Its branded portfolio has included Marzetti dressings and dips; New York Brand frozen breads and croutons; Sister Schubert’s frozen breads; Amish Kitchens, Inn Maid, and Reames egg noodles; Chatham Village croutons; Cardini’s dressings; Pfeiffer dressings; Romanoff caviar; Angelic Bakehouse breads, wraps, and crusts; Flatout flatbreads; and licensed products such as Jack Daniel’s mustard and Chick-fil-A sauce. Girard’s dressings have been licensed to a subsidiary of Haco AG in Switzerland. The company operates as part of Lancaster Colony rather than as a separate publicly listed corporation. Its manufacturing footprint has included multiple Columbus facilities and a plant in Horse Cave, Kentucky. A Milpitas, California plant was closed in 2025. The business remains focused on branded and customer-specific specialty foods, with distribution through retail grocery, foodservice, and other institutional channels. Its positioning combines heritage food branding with large-scale production across complementary categories such as dressings, dips, breads, noodles, and toppings.

T. Marzetti Company began in 1896 when Teresa and Joseph Marzetti opened an Italian restaurant in Columbus, Ohio. The restaurant primarily served students at Ohio State University and established the hospitality tradition from which the later packaged-food business developed. Teresa, born Teresa Piacentini in Florence, Italy, had immigrated to the United States at age 18, traveling through Genoa and Ellis Island before settling in Ohio. Joseph was also an Italian immigrant. Joseph Marzetti died in 1911, but Teresa continued the enterprise. She opened a second restaurant on Gay Street in 1919, while the original University District location was eventually closed. In 1924, she married Carl Schaufele. The restaurant’s homemade salad dressings became an important commercial product. They were sold by mail not long after the restaurant opened, and employee Katharine Hill is credited with developing the dressing line. The company does not endorse the frequently repeated claim that Teresa invented the Johnny Marzetti casserole or that the dish was named after her brother-in-law; the attribution appears in later accounts rather than established company history. In 1940, the restaurant moved to 16 East Broad Street, opposite the Ohio Statehouse. This became the company’s best-known restaurant location and was well regarded in Columbus. The food business gradually shifted toward packaged manufacturing. By 1955, the restaurant’s upstairs kitchen had become a full-scale factory, and Marzetti dressings were being distributed through grocery stores across Ohio. The success of takeout and retail sales helped establish salad dressing as the company’s core packaged-food category. During the late 1960s, T. Marzetti built a dressing production plant in Columbus’s Clintonville neighborhood on Indianola Avenue. The facility served retail customers and chains including Kmart, Big Bear Stores, and Kroger. After Teresa Marzetti died in 1972, the restaurant closed, but the manufacturing operation survived and continued to expand. The modern company developed into a diversified specialty-food group. It added or operated brands covering frozen breads, croutons, egg noodles, dressings, caviar, dips, flatbreads, wraps, and other products. The portfolio has included Marzetti, New York Brand, Sister Schubert’s, Amish Kitchens, Chatham Village, Cardini’s, Girard’s, Inn Maid, Pfeiffer, Reames, Romanoff, Angelic Bakehouse, and Flatout, along with licensed offerings such as Jack Daniel’s mustard and Chick-fil-A sauce. Girard’s dressings are licensed to a subsidiary of Haco AG, based in Bern, Switzerland. T. Marzetti Company is now the Specialty Food Group of Lancaster Colony Corporation. Its manufacturing network has included several facilities in Columbus, Ohio, and a plant in Horse Cave, Kentucky. The Milpitas, California plant was closed in 2025. The company’s present identity is therefore broader than the original restaurant and dressing business: it is a multi-category specialty-food platform that combines long-established regional heritage with national branded-food manufacturing and distribution.

1. 2025Milpitas plant closes

   The company closes its manufacturing plant in Milpitas, California.

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2. 1972The original restaurant closes after Teresa Marzetti’s death

   The restaurant ends, but the branded food manufacturing operation continues.

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3. 1960A Columbus dressing plant is developed

   During the late 1960s, the company builds a production plant in the Clintonville neighborhood to support retail customers.

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4. 1955The restaurant kitchen becomes a factory

   The upstairs kitchen develops into a full-scale production facility, while Marzetti dressings enter Ohio grocery stores.

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5. 1940Operations move to East Broad Street

   The business relocates to the well-known restaurant site at 16 East Broad Street, across from the Ohio Statehouse.

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6. 1919A second restaurant opens on Gay Street

   The new location broadens the Marzetti restaurant operation in Columbus.

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7. 1911Teresa Marzetti continues the business after Joseph’s death

   Teresa assumes continued responsibility for the enterprise and later expands its restaurant presence.

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8. 1896Teresa and Joseph Marzetti open an Italian restaurant

   The couple establishes the restaurant in Columbus, Ohio, creating the foundation for the later T. Marzetti food business.

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A heritage-led specialty-food manufacturer with a broad portfolio of branded and licensed products, emphasizing dressings, dips, breads, noodles, croutons, and other complementary convenience foods for retail and foodservice markets.

• MarzettiSalad dressings and dips

  The namesake portfolio grew from the dressings associated with the original Columbus restaurant. It includes salad dressings and dips and represents the company’s central heritage brand.

• Sister Schubert’sFrozen breads

  A frozen-bread brand within the company’s specialty-food portfolio, offering prepared bread products designed for retail freezer distribution and home use.

• New York BrandFrozen breads and croutons

  New York Brand covers frozen bread products and croutons, extending the company’s presence from dressings into complementary meal and salad accompaniments.

• Cardini’sSalad dressings

  Cardini’s is a dressing brand in the company’s broader portfolio of branded salad products.

• Girard’sSalad dressings

  Girard’s is a salad-dressing brand associated with T. Marzetti Company and licensed to a subsidiary of Haco AG in Bern, Switzerland.

• ReamesEgg noodles

  Reames is one of the company’s egg-noodle brands, complementing other specialty noodle labels in the portfolio.

• Amish Kitchens, Inn MaidEgg noodles

  These brands represent additional egg-noodle offerings within T. Marzetti Company’s packaged-food range.

• FlatoutFlatbreads and flatbread products

  Flatout produces flatbreads and related products, including wraps and other bread formats used for convenient meals.

• Angelic BakehouseBread, wraps, and crusts

  Angelic Bakehouse adds fresh and packaged bread formats, wraps, and crust products to the company’s specialty-food portfolio.

1. T. Marzetti Company