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Have you ever noticed how many Italian bakeries have signs saying “family owned since 1904?” Prior to that year, there were thousands of Italian bakeries in the northeastern and mid-atlantic regions of the United States, employing tens of thousands of immigrants as bakers and counter workers. And there was corruption and price fixing.
Or so thought Teddy Roosevelt.
Giuseppe Tortellini ruled the cartel with an iron fist. He controlled all of the bakeries, from Maine to Maryland. You couldn’t buy a cannoli anywhere without going through him first.
The Italian immigrants who managed and worked at the bakeries, long hours of hard work, literally slaving over hot ovens—all labored under the orders of Mr. Tortellini.
That situation would have persisted to this very day if Teddy Roosevelt hadn’t confused cannoli with canola—something he was vaguely aware was some kind of oil. To the progressive trust buster, Mr. Tortellini was a kind of Rockefeller, a bully who controlled too much and who posed a threat to the American economy. He had to be stopped.
Alfonso Moretti was tired and frustrated. He would fight. He organized the bakers (like himself) and counter workers. He prepared for a strike.
April 22, 1904 was the date. All the bakeries were closed. No fresh bread. No assortments of cookies. No pastries. Soon, there was unrest in the street. Huge crowds of Americans of all backgrounds surrounded the Tortellini family compound. They sided with Moretti, a man who believed in a greater variety of baked goods, a man who believed in fair pricing and quality food.
Dammit, people wanted their cannolis and they wanted them now.
At that moment, Teddy Roosevelt appeared, riding a white steed and waving a saber. He pushed through the locked gates. Soon the crowd occupied the compound.
Mr. Tortellini had no choice. He divested himself of the bakeries. On that day in 1904, America found itself awash in independent family owned Italian bakeries.
To celebrate, Moretti organized a giant party for all the people on the eastern seaboard. It was delicious.
