R. Torre & Company, Inc. is a

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

-based company that produces the Torani brand of flavoring

syrups In cooking, a syrup (less commonly sirup; from ar, شراب; , beverage, wine and la, sirupus) is a condiment that is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugar ...

sauces In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi- solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French wor ...

, and blended drink bases. The company was founded in 1925 by Rinaldo and Ezilda Torre. Torani dates back to 1925, when husband and wife Rinaldo and Ezilda Torre, immigrants from

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, introduced Torani syrups to the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco. Mixing their syrup recipes with

sparkling water Carbonated water (also known as soda water, sparkling water, fizzy water, club soda, water with gas, in many places as mineral water, or especially in the United States as seltzer or seltzer water) is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, ...

, the Torres introduced the classic Italian soda to local

cafes A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

, and soon began mixing, blending and selling Torani Syrups from their Italian wholesale

grocery A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, a ...

. In 1957, the Torres' son-in-law, Harry Lucheta, took over the business and oversaw Torani's growth from a local San Francisco business to an international brand. Torani is currently owned by Paul Lucheta and Lisa Lucheta, grandchildren of the founders Rinaldo and Ezilda Torre. The company employs over 100 people, and Torani products are distributed in over 40 countries. From the late 1990s until March 2020, Torani's headquarters, which include both its business offices and manufacturing facilities, were located in

South San Francisco, California South San Francisco is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, located on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city is colloquially known as "South City". The population was 66,105 at the 2020 cens ...

, until a March 2020 move to

San Leandro San Leandro (Spanish for " St. Leander") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area; between Oakland to the northwest, and Ashland, Castro Valley, and Hayward to the sout ...

during the COVID-19 pandemic. One notable syrup is their Chicken 'N Waffles syrup, originally started as an April Fools' joke. The current CEO is Melanie Dulbecco.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:R. Torre and Company, Inc. Drink companies based in California Food manufacturers of the United States Manufacturing companies based in San Francisco Food and drink in the San Francisco Bay Area 1925 establishments in California Food and drink companies based in California Certified B Corporations in the Food & Beverage Industry