L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JANUARY 13, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 32 L'Italo-Americano SEATTLE ITALIAN COMMUNITY M ild or spicy, made with f e n n e l , a n i s e o r g a r l i c , there's nothing like a deli- cious Italian sausage. Just a s k t h e V e r o n e f a m i l y , who has been in the sausage b u s i n e s s f o r n e a r l y 1 0 0 years. The company was started i n 1 9 2 3 b y J o e V e r o n e , w h o c a m e f r o m C a l a b r i a bearing his family's tradi- tional sausage recipe, and opened a meat-cutting busi- ness in Sumner, Wash. As Italian families tend to do, the Verone family passed the a r t o f m e a t - c u t t i n g a n d s a u s a g e - m a k i n g d o w n through the generations – from Joe to his eldest son Pete, then to Pete's son Joe, a n d n o w t o t h e y o u n g e s t generation, Joe's daughter Renee Verone Flores. Recently, Renee has taken the business to a whole new level. A history teacher who worked in the meat market in her spare time for more than 30 years, Renee, along with her father Joe, opened a n e w r e t a i l s h o p l a s t December called Verone's Italian Kitchen & Sausage C o m p a n y , l o c a t e d i n Fircrest, a small community near Tacoma. The journey to opening the retail store and deli was decades in the mak- ing. After Joe Verone showed his son Pete, Renee's grand- father, how to make sausage a n d r u n t h e f a m i l y m e a t market, Pete returned home to Tacoma after World War II and took over the busi- ness, calling it Pete's Quality Meats. Like his father before him, Pete then taught his 16- year-old son Joe the ropes; Joe assumed ownership of Pete's Quality Meats after he had served in the Vietnam War. B y t h e l a t e 1 9 7 0 s , J o e Verone and his helpers were t u r n i n g o u t s o m e 1 0 , 0 0 0 p o u n d s o f s a u s a g e e a c h week. Special attention was paid to both its preparation and packaging. The business u s e d v a c u u m p a c k a g i n g , similar to the kind used with b a c o n – a n o v e l t y a t t h e time. "The public doesn't understand this packaging yet, but it's being done for a purpose," Ed McCleery, Joe Verone's business partner, t o l d T h e S e a t t l e P o s t - Intelligencer at the time. "For one thing, the sausage never loses its nice coloring – or bloom as we call it. Also, because there is virtually no air in the package, it lasts longer." Pete's Quality Meats was doing great until an electrical fire destroyed the building in the mid-1980s. But that set- b a c k d i d n o t d e t e r t h e Verone family. They contin- ued to do what they do best: m a k e s a u s a g e s . V e r o n e ' s became a specialty sausage company, using a wholesale commercial kitchen to sell directly to restaurants, pizze- rias and grocery stores. Verone sausage became a f a v o r i t e i n g r e d i e n t a t Tacoma eateries such as The Cloverleaf, Macaluso's and Joeseppi's. Individuals han- k e r i n g f o r r e a l I t a l i a n s a u s a g e t o c o o k a t h o m e could purchase bulk sausage in 5- or 10-pound packages at the Stadium Thriftway. The delicious products amassed quite a following but owning a retail space was i n t h e i r D N A . " M y d a d always wanted to return to a r e t a i l s t o r e s e t t i n g , " s a i d Renee. "I've always dreamed of working with my dad since I was a little girl." R e n e e a n d J o e c h o s e a location that could not have suited them better – a for- mer Italian grocery store and deli known as Viafore's. For m o r e t h a n 3 0 y e a r s , Viafore's had been a neigh- borhood staple and a go-to shop for Italian food lovers. When David Viafore retired, he convinced Renee and Joe to take over the space. It was the first retail space that Verone's Sausage had occu- pied in more than 30 years. A s R e n e e r e c e n t l y t o l d Dine Pierce County: "Dave Viafore is an amazing person in this community. When he retired, he called my dad and said: 'I'd love to see another family in here.' So we leased the space from the building owners. Dave leaves really big shoes to fill, but I hope people can feel some comfort from our family operating there and that they appreci- ate our sausage." The new shop gives the family business a fresh start, especially Renee's father Joe, who had long dreamed of this moment. "I always knew he wanted to open up a new store," said Renee. "It's a little later in life than he wanted. It's exciting to see my dad who has worked his whole life to make sure this company exists and stay a part of the community. Even in retirement, he was able to make that vision come to life." A t V e r o n e ' s I t a l i a n K i t c h e n & S a u s a g e Company, hungry customers can buy an assortment of freshly made deli sandwich- e s , s e v e r a l o f w h i c h a r e named for family members. There's Joe's Classic, a tradi- tional Italian sausage sand- wich; Pete's Grilled Meatloaf Club, or The Feisty Bea with h o m e m a d e m e a t b a l l s , n a m e d f o r P e t e ' s w i f e Beatrice Luppino. Cannoli or biscotti top off the meal. I n a d d i t i o n t o I t a l i a n sausages, the shop caters to other palates, serving hot links, bratwurst, Louisiana hot sausages, even jalapeno- cheddar kielbasa. A refriger- a t e d c a s e i s s t o c k e d w i t h take-and-bake meals like lasagna, and freshly made sausages or ground sausage can be purchased to cook at home. A variety of tradition- al Italian products, such as cheese or olives, is also avail- able. Renee and the next gener- ation, which includes her son Dagon, hope to breathe new life into Verone's as the com- pany looks forward to cele- b r a t i n g i t s c e n t e n n i a l i n 2023. "At my age, I could probably look back and say that part of it is loyalty to your dad because this is what you do," she said. "But I'm a history teacher. I loved the history, I loved the stories behind every piece of food, I l o v e d t h e s t o r i e s b e h i n d every recipe. I thoroughly enjoy the tradition of what my family did. Every impor- tant thing that has been said h a s h a p p e n e d o v e r t h e sausage table." A busy meat market and butcher shop, Pete's Quality Meats was unfortunately destroyed by fire in the 1980s (Photo: Verone's Italian Kitchen) Verone's Sausage Company: five generations serve up an appetizing legacy RITA CIPALLA

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