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.
Biography
Rose dropped out of school at age 16 to support her family by cleaning houses. In 1934 she married James R. Totino (1911 – 1981) and remained married until his death of
heart attack while vacationing in
Las Vegas,
Nevada.
[ Associated Press (December 16, 1981). James Totino.]
They opened their own pizzeria in
Minneapolis in 1951 and 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
St. Louis Park is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 50,010 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a first-ring suburb immediately west of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Min ...
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.
[ Associated Press (September 13, 1976)]
Pizza magnate was poor.
/ref>[Staff report (October 15, 1975)]
'' Wall Street Journal''
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.[Horner, Sarah (June 8, 2011)]
Totino's Italian Kitchen in Mounds View to close after 60 years.
''St. Paul Pioneer Press
The ''St. Paul Pioneer Press'' is a newspaper based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It serves the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. Circulation is heaviest in the east metro, including Ramsey County, Minn ...
''
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
Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...
.[Our Mission (n.d.]
'' NET Ministries'' Totino died of cancer at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park, Minnesota
St. Louis Park is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 50,010 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a first-ring suburb immediately west of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Min ...
.[Staff report (June 23, 1994)]
Rose Totino, 79, Frozen-Pizza Maker.
'' New York Times'' She was inducted into the Minnesota Inventors Hall of Fame in 2008.
References
*
External links
* via Minnesota Inventors Hall of Fame
Bonnie Totino Brenny: My Mother's Legacy
via Minnesota Historical Society
The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) is a nonprofit educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the territorial legislature in 1849, almost a decade before statehoo ...
Totino's Italian Kitchen history
1915 births
1994 deaths
20th-century American businesspeople
American food company founders
{{US-business-bio-1910s-stub