T. Marzetti Company

The T. Marzetti Company is the Specialty Food Group of the Lancaster Colony Corporation. T. Marzetti produces numerous salad dressings, fruit and vegetable dips, frozen baked goods and specialty brand items. It is the largest food and beverage company headquartered in Central Ohio. Headquartered in Westerville, Ohio, the T. Marzetti Company was founded by Teresa Marzetti.
History.
T. Marzetti started out as an Italian restaurant in Columbus, Ohio, started by the couple of Teresa and Joseph Marzetti, recent Italian immigrants, in 1896. Teresa's opening credo was:
"We will start a new place and serve good food. At a profit if we can, at a loss if we must, but we will serve good food."
Marzetti's became a local favorite especially among The Ohio State University students, and grew to become a four star restaurant. Customers particularly enjoyed Teresa's Johnny Marzetti, a pasta dish named for her brother-in-law, as well as her homemade salad dressings. By 1955, Marzetti's upstairs kitchen of the restaurant became a full-scale factory, and the Marzetti brand of salad dressings found its way into grocery stores throughout Ohio. After Teresa Marzetti's death in 1972, the restaurant closed, but the company and factory have continued on to this day.