About Tony's Fine Foods

For more than half a century, Tony's Fine Foods has provided top-quality services and products to customers and is widely recognized as a distributor who listens and cares.

Tony's Fine Foods has over 250 employees and a fleet of more than 50 tractor-trailers. They distribute over 6,000 world-class products such as deli and bakery items, prepared salads, pizza ingredients, pastas, condiments, oils, tomato products, finger foods, catering items, specialty beverages, coffee, paper goods, meats, and both domestic and imported cheeses to thousands of customers including major grocery chains, delis, bakeries, restaurants and pizza parlors. In 1993, they acquired Cream of the Valley, Northern California's premier distributor of bakery products. Since then, Tony's has carried more than 2,000 bakery products including breads, fillings, cakes, and pies.

Offering a huge variety of deli and bakery products is just one way Tony's Fine Foods stands above the competition. Tony's marketing materials include pizza and sandwich programs, holiday party tray and gift pack ideas, and extensive point-of-sale library, and educational aids. A fully staffed customer service department is maintained to receive customer orders and answer questions regarding goods and services. A will-call department is on hand, as well, to fill immediate needs. Embodying the highest standards of service, quality, and integrity - Tony's is more than just a supplier. They are a resource for consumer trends, market data, and labor saving systems. The sales staff comprises trained consultants who are food-safety certified and current with market trends. Tony's assists customers in the handling and presentation of products and encourages the use of in-store demonstrations and sampling to introduce new foods.

While customer demand is instrumental in the surge of their business, Tony's is strongly dedicated to creating partnerships with customers and encourages expansion using current and innovative concepts.

Tony's West Sacramento headquarters, a combination of corporate office suites and a perishable food distribution facility, is one of the most modern and efficient in the region. The 120,000 square foot facility is located on 28 acres. Their fleet of multi-temperature trucks and trailers are carefully designed for hot, valley temperatures. Twenty sealed loading bays allow perishables to be kept in a constant 35° Fahrenheit climate whether in storage, on the dock, or a truck. Tony's plant accurately tracks all products and ensures freshness by using state-of-the-art software for tasks such as radio frequency computers, "real time" inventory, automatic product rotation, multiple order picking, and bar code scanning.

While incorporating progressive technology, Tony's remains old-fashioned in many respects - specifically the treatment of the customer. Similar to their employees, customers are considered more like family than business associates - consistent with the Ingoglia's proud Italian heritage. Many similar businesses conduct their ordering procedures via telephone, fax, and other contemporary devices. Tony's continues to believe in sending a sales representative to call on each customer personally. Representatives are trained to answer questions, help customers identify needs, and establish accurate re-order levels. Since the beginning, the company goal has been to dependably deliver the freshest food of the finest quality. It is this commitment to customer service and reliability that keeps Tony's Fine Foods on a steady growth track. They pride themselves on delivering quality products at competitive prices with an unmatched level of customer service.

Born in Cantania, Italy, Anthony "Tony" Ingoglia Sr. immigrated to the United States in 1912 when he was less than a year old. He arrived at Ellis Island with his older brother, Joe, and his parents, Adolfo and Anna. The family first lived in Boston, where Adolfo became a salesman with Mussolino-LaConte, an importer of Italian specialty foods.

By the age of 12, an industrious Tony was helping out around the plant - oiling cheeses to prevent them from drying out and completing freight bills. After a toboggan accident severely injured his left leg, he was in and out of hospitals for the next three years. By the seventh grade, he quit school to help support the family.

By 1934, young Tony Sr. had landed a job with California Salami Company in Oakland. As a salesman covering territory in Sacramento, Sonoma, Napa, Petaluma, and Santa Rosa, Mr. Ingoglia convinced the firm to let him sell cheese and other Italian meats. That same year, he married 19 year-old Adele, whom he had met three years earlier. They were married 60 years until her passing in 1994.

The young couple moved to Sacramento in 1934 and started Tony's Salami Company. It was just Tony and Adele in those days. She took orders over the phone and over the next few years he made hundreds of trips between Sacramento and San Francisco. He would leave home at 3:00 am and return after 10:00 PM. His refrigerated company truck doubled as a warehouse and pricing and inventory levels were tracked in his head. Embodying the values he had learned from his parents, he worked demanding hours, conducted an honest business, and always put the customer first. Within a few years, his reputation for trustworthiness and dedication had spread and Tony's Fine Foods became an industry name.

Tony's Fine Foods is legendary for their commitment to the customer. Several rival companies have been quoted in news articles praising Tony's reputation for delivering exceptional service and quality products. Though Tony Ingoglia Sr. retired long ago, he remains active in the business by observing, advising, and supporting. Tony's Fine Foods prides themselves on partnering with the customer and delivering success from the service line to the bottom line - a fantastic goal for the next generation.