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DiRusso's serves savory sausage, sets sights on future
By Kalea Hall
YOUNGSTOWN
It all started in Lowellville.
In the 1930s, Grandma Adeline DiRusso brought her sausage recipe to the village.
Little did she know the recipe would go on and on to bring fairgoers sausage happiness, and families a filling dinner dish.
“I think she would be thrilled to see [the business] stayed in the family,” said Robert DiRusso, owner of DiRusso’s sausage and Adeline’s grandson.
Robert’s part in the company came later, but the family member who really started to move the DiRusso product was Augustine “Augie” DiRusso, Adeline’s son and Robert’s uncle.
DiRusso’s supermarket on East Water Street in Lowellville was the prime spot to get the sausage until Augustine came along and decided to bring the product to areas where non-Italians were and introduce them to the product: real Italian sausage.
In the early 1960s, he brought the famous DiRusso’s sausage to the Lowellville Mount Carmel Festival and then the Canfield Fair. Today, DiRusso’s concession stands can be found at more than 60 events in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
“He was really aggressive in booking events in the ’60s,” Robert said. “Most of the major events we have today he booked back then.”
Augustine added several county fairs to the list and other festivals. Today, he says he did so because he had finally found something he liked to do.
DiRusso’s sold a sandwich for only 40 cents, so Augustine says he did not get into it for the money.
His nephew later joined in helping to run the trailers at the fairs. Robert still remembers working the 1975 Canfield Fair. He was 16 and running his own DiRusso’s trailer.
“I always liked it,” Robert said. “I still like working the trailers.”
The fair atmosphere brought the new customers and forever fans to the trailers for their must-have sausage sandwich. It was a way for DiRusso’s to create a following for its product, and for DiRusso’s to hear straight from the customers. That connection to the customer at the fairs still exists today, but it took awhile to create.
“Italian sausage wasn’t well-known,” Robert said.
It was described as the “Italian hot dog” to attract new customers.
In 1973, Augustine stopped working the trailer events to focus on running the sausage plant in Lowellville. Robert’s older brother, David, and several others were left in charge of the trailer operation. By 1979, Robert took over running the trailer operations with his uncle’s system of serving and his grandmother’s recipe.
Robert took over the entire DiRusso’s operation in 1993.
“After I bought the company, I decided to push into retail, which is kind of risky,” Robert said. “I felt it was worth a try.”
The main growth for the company in the last 20 years has been on the retail side. DiRusso’s products also have made their way to restaurant menus in Northeast Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and West Virginia.
On the retail side of the business, a customer can find the DiRusso product in more than 300 stores across Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, New York and West Virginia.
“It was a learning process with the packaging and the stores,” Robert said. “It was a big investment for packaging and equipment.”
In addition to making the product get to more dinner tables, Robert and his staff have worked to upgrade the product with implementation of a new grinding and meat-processing operation. The meat for the DiRusso’s sausage comes from food provider Cargill – one of the largest privately held companies in the U.S. based in Minneapolis.
The products: sausage patties, turkey sausage, beef meatballs, turkey meatballs, wedding-soup meatballs, breakfast sausage, beef patties, beef hoagies, and, of course, Italian sausage in hot, medium hot and sweet varieties are all processed at the DiRusso’s plant at 1035 W. Rayen Ave.
About 35 full- and part-time employees work at the plant to produce and work in the office. Production lasts just one shift.
“Our operation is very efficient,” Robert said. “We have high productivity. We are able to put out a lot of product.”
Robert’s 86-year-old Uncle Augustine is happy with the DiRusso’s operation today.
“He likes the new grinding and mixing operation,” Robert said. “He was happy the business was able to continue.”
The next step in DiRusso’s growth is with the complete redesign of the company’s website that will provide insight to the company’s history, product and future.
Youngstown-based PALO Creative, a marketing and advertising agency, has been retained.
“It is exciting for us and exciting for them,” said Rob Palowitz, who started the marketing agency in 1999.
Right now, PALO Creative is switching the site to make it easier to control content and make it more user-friendly for visitors. One element of the site Robert DiRusso is especially happy to have is the locator tool to help customers find DiRusso’s product.
“They are a great family and great people,” Palowitz said. “I appreciate dealing with longtime Valley companies that have been in business for a long time.”