Stella D'oro facts for kids
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Former factory in the Bronx in August 2010
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Formerly
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Stella D'oro Biscuit Company |
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| Private (1919–92) | |
| Industry | Food |
| Fate | Company closed, brand sold to Lance in 2009 |
| Founded | 1919 |
| Founder | Joseph Kresevich |
| Defunct | 2009 |
| Headquarters |
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U.S.
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| Products | Cookies, breadsticks, biscottis |
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Stella D'oro is an American brand of cookies and breadsticks. The company Snyder's-Lance owns the brand today. The name Stella D'oro means "star of gold" in Italian. The cookies are made in a style inspired by Italian baking.
Stella D'oro makes many products. These include breadsticks, Swiss Fudge cookies, and biscotti. They also make special S-shaped breakfast treats.
Italian immigrants Angela and Joseph Kresevich started the original Stella D'oro company. They called it "Stella D'oro Biscuit Company." This was in 1930. The family also ran a restaurant. It was next to their factory in the Kingsbridge area of the Bronx, New York City.
In 1992, the Kresevich family sold their business to Nabisco. Later, in 2000, Nabisco became part of Kraft Foods. In 2006, Kraft sold Stella D'oro to a company called Brynwood Partners. Then, in 2009, Brynwood sold the brand to Lance.
Contents
The Story of Stella D'oro
Joseph Kresevich came to the U.S. from Trieste, Italy, in 1922. He started working in bakeries in New York City. There, he created his own special recipes. In 1928, he married Angela, who was also a very skilled baker.
Together, Joseph and Angela started the Stella D'Oro bakery. This bakery grew into the Stella D'oro Biscuit Company. Their cookies were not as sweet as other Italian baked goods. They were made to go well with coffee and tea.
The company made its cookies "pareve". This means they contained no meat or dairy products. This was important for the large number of people in New York who follow kosher food rules. Because of this early success, the company moved to a bigger building. It was located at 237th Street and Broadway in the Bronx.
Changes and Challenges
In 2006, Brynwood Partners bought Stella D'oro Biscuit Co. from Kraft Foods Inc.. In August 2008, many workers at the factory went on strike. They were unhappy about proposed cuts to their pay and benefits. The company tried to bring in new workers.
After almost a year, a government board told the company to hire the workers back. They also had to pay them for the time they were on strike. The company was also told to talk with the workers' union again. That same month, the company said it would close its factory.
In September 2009, Brynwood sold the Stella D'oro brand to Lance. Lance is a big snack food maker. Lance planned to move the cookie production to a different factory in Ashland, Ohio.
The Bronx factory was not part of the sale to Lance. It closed in October 2009. The building was later taken down in 2012. Lance began making Stella D'oro products at its bakery in Ashland, Ohio.
How Stella D'oro Works Today
The original Stella D'oro bakery was in the Bronx, New York City. This factory closed in 2009. By late 2006, some of the cookie making had already moved to New Jersey.
Stella D'oro's Swiss Fudge cookies are made without milk or butter. This makes them popular with Orthodox Jews who follow Jewish food rules. These cookies are called "shtreimels" by some. This is a Yiddish word for round fur hats worn by some Hasidic Jews. The cookies are "pareve," meaning they have no meat or dairy.
When Kraft bought the company, they removed the "pareve" label from some products. But after sales dropped and people complained, they brought the "pareve" label back.
Images for kids
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The Stella D'oro bakery in the Bronx for sale in August 2010.
