L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 26 L'Italo-Americano I f you're driving in Kent, Wash., just east of the West Valley Highway, be on the lookout for a street called Oberto Drive. Follow it to the terminus and you'll end up at the headquarters of Oberto Snacks Inc., a leading producer of jerky, pepperoni and other smoked meats. Oberto Drive, formerly South 238th Street, was inaugurated on May 17 as the company celebrat- ed its 100th anniversary. Now headquartered at 7060 Oberto Drive, Oberto Snacks is one of Kent's most popular businesses and one of the Northwest's most beloved brands. The street renaming was not the only big news that affected Oberto Snacks this spring. After being held privately by the Ober- to family for 100 years, the com- pany announced its sale in May to Premium Brand Holdings, a Canadian food conglomerate, for approximately $188 million. Pre- mium Brands is a familiar name in the Seattle food industry: In 2015, one of its subsidiaries pur- chased Isernio, a sausage compa- ny founded by Frank Isernio, also the son of Italian immi- grants. Oberto was started in 1918 by Constantino Oberto, an Italian immigrant from the Piedmont region of northern Italy. Constan- tino produced and sold hand- made sausages based on tradi- tional family recipes. Calling his business the Oberto Sausage Company, he sold his products to small grocery stores and restau- rants around Seattle. Constantino might have been a terrific sausage maker but he was not a lucky man. He died, unexpectedly, in 1943 and left his family with about $10,000 in gambling debts. His wife Antoni- etta and son Art took over the sausage business, determined to keep it afloat, even though rela- tives and family friends encour- aged them to sell it. Art was still in high school at the time but wanted to finish his education. He would get up early in the morning to get the sausage plant up and running before leav- ing for school. After the school day ended, he made deliveries on his bike. He was a hard worker and a gifted salesman, using all kinds of gimmicks to promote his busi- ness. In the early years, he walked the beaches of West Seat- tle, passing out free jerky and tri- colored pens that read "Stolen from Arthur Oberto." His quirky marketing schemes and delicious products struck a chord with Northwest con- sumers. Soon the company began to grow, led by Art and later his wife Dorothy Vennetti, whom he RITA CIPALLA Say hello to a new street in town: Oberto Drive of its history, Oberto Snacks kept its original red brick build- ing on Rainier Avenue in south Seattle, where Art and Dorothy Oberto got their start. Today, that location serves as the com- pany's factory outlet, complete with neon green and red lights and the Oh Boy! Oberto logo. It's packed to the ceiling with all kinds of jerky— beef, pork, turkey, bacon—along with other snack-meat products such as microwaveable pork rinds. With most items discounted, it's a popular destination for both locals and out-of-town visitors. Oberto stepped down as com- pany president in 1983 and took on the title of founder, often showing up at board meetings and company events. So it was no surprise that Art Oberto was front and center at the May 17 sign installation that designated Oberto Drive as the newest street in Kent. married in 1954. In the 1960s, Oberto began producing beef jerky for a cus- tomer who wanted an inexpen- sive food item to sell in his bar. Easy to pack and ship, jerky was the perfect product to help Ober- to expand the sausage business. It was an instant success and remains a best seller today, ele- vating Oberto to one of the top three snack-meat producers in the world. At one point, Art purchased a 1957 Lincoln Town Car, painted it with the company's green, white and red Italian-flag color scheme and called it the Jerky Mobile. For years, it was his only vehicle and he could be seen tooling around Seattle in it day and night. He also had a mobile home decorated with the Oberto logo, which he let employees borrow for family vacations. One of the most distinctive aspects of the brand was its youthful slogan: "Oh Boy! Ober- to." The origination of that phrase came about a decade after Art took over the business. In the 1950s, when he was enrolled in night school, Oberto would bring sausage and meat sticks to class to share with his fellow students. One day, a teacher saw Oberto coming down the hall and shout- ed out, "Oh boy! Oberto!" The phrase stuck. Although Art Oberto did his share of product promotion, there was one high-visibility placement that had nothing to do with his efforts. In the 1993 film "Grumpy Old Men," starring Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau and Ann Margret, one of the company's products made a sur- prise appearance on the large screen. In the scene, Jack Lem- mon is wandering through a con- venience store and picks up a package of pepperoni sticks from the shelf. The Oberto logo, with its signature green, white and red packaging, is clearly visible. In 1978, the company left Seattle and relocated its opera- tions in Kent, a city about 20 miles south of Seattle, building a plant to house 150 employees. Today, Oberto employs about 500 in a larger building on the same site. Over the years, the company worked to keep up with the times. Recognizing increased consumer interest in all-natural foods, Oberto adjusted its meat recipes, removing corn syrup, preservatives, dextrose and other artificial ingredients. It created turkey jerky in 1994 and was the first jerky company to introduce an all-natural beef jerky product in 2011. In 2016, the company launched a trail mix that paired jerky with nuts, seeds, dried fruit and chocolate pieces True to its roots and mindful Company founder Art Oberto, second from left, joins City of Kent Mayor Dana Ralph (far right) as the new sign on Oberto Drive is installed. (Oberto Snacks Inc.) SEATTLE ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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