A Rich History

Our Story

Villari Foods
Family. Quality. Tradition.

Founded in 1925 by Sam Villari, Villari Foods is still a family-owned business with a rich history. As a teenager, Sam came to America from Italy, instilled with the value Italians place on pure, good food as an integral part of family and social life. He started his business with little but a dream as a butcher shop in Philadelphia’s 9th Street Italian Market. At Villari Foods today, we combine our unwavering commitment to our beginnings as an artisan, Italian butcher shop with our capacity to keep pace with evolving customer demands. We pay attention to detail and pride ourselves on hand-cuts, exceeding expectations for great taste, good health, variety, value, convenience and creativity in the kitchen. With the fourth Villari generation now entering the business, our family remains dedicated to ensuring an exceptional experience for all who enjoy our products. While our butcher shop is a little bit bigger now, we remain committed to our roots.

We offer a wide variety of quality pork and other meat products for retail, foodservice and export markets. We understand and are responding to consumer preferences for meat products that are locally sourced, humanely raised, antibiotic/hormone/steroid free, and organic. And we’re well known for our smoked products.

As part of Villari Foods, we also have our own livestock and trucking operations, which allows for greater quality control and extraordinary customer service, including superior delivery options. We partner with local farms and are committed to environmental sustainability.


Our Companies

S&J Villari Livestock

S&J Villari Livestock is a livestock procurement, processing and trading company that provides livestock for The Pork Company and sells to other meat producers.

 

The Pork Company

The Pork Company is a pork harvesting and processing operation. They supply fresh products that are further processed, packaged and marketed under Villari Brothers proprietary brands. Bulk products are distributed to retail, foodservice and export markets through The Pork Company.

Working with a strong network of suppliers, including local family farms as well as larger operations, enables The Pork Company to continuously meet demands for the diverse product lines offered by the Villari Foods companies.

Villari Brothers

With state-of-the-art facilities for smoked and cured pork and poultry – and for case ready packaging that’s designed for product appeal, Villari Brothers is responsible for further processing and packaging proprietary brands. Branded product lines include Villari Brothers Never EverTM pork, raised without antibiotics, Villari Brothers Smokehouse CraftedTM natural hardwood smoked products, Villari Brothers hardwood smoked sausage, Villari Brothers Fresh pork, and Villari Brothers Organic pork.

Villari Bros Trucking

Villari Bros Trucking is a leader in food product distribution, providing services that range from same-day to long-distance delivery in our fleet of temperature-monitored vehicles. Having our own transport operation helps Villari Foods ensure the prompt, reliable delivery of our company’s products to customers in all sectors, throughout the U.S. They also provide excellent service for other food producers.

Villari Foods Through the Years

1911


Sam Villari, just 16 years old, emigrates from Sicily, Italy, with nothing but the clothes on his back and joins his sister and her family in Philadelphia, Pa.

1915


Sam and his brother-in-law open a retail meat store in Phildelphia's 9th Street Italian Market.

From the beginning, Sam took great care to ensure quality for his customers. He would walk more than 40 miles to Lancaster, Pa, buy a steer, walk it back to Philadelphia, and process it behind his store.

1917


A momentous occasion, as Sam is able to buy a used truck. He is often seen in his distinctive, wood-sided truck with the livestock he hand-selected at market.

Future generations of the Villari family would continue to revere Sam's original red truck as a symbol of the company's ongoing dedication to quality products and customers' delight.

1925


The family business, now known as Villari Foods, begins as Sam Villari opens his own meat packing plant (called S. Villari and Sons) in Philadelphia.

From an early age, Sam's sons, John, Peter and Pepe, are often by their father's side learning first-hand about the business.

1930


Sam adds a hog farm in New Jersey and starts trading, buying and selling livestock.

1960's


John, Peter, and Pepe Villari (Sam's sons) take over daily operations and continue to build the farm, livestock, and meatpacking business.

Pepe Villari goes on to expand the company's operations, while sharing his knowledge, work ethic and solid values with the next generation of the Villari family.

1977


Two of Pepe's sons (Sam's grandsons), Sam and Joe, start a transportation business known as Villari Brothers Trucking.

1995


Rocco Villari, Pepe's youngest son, joins brothers Sam and Joe in the family business.

2001


The “third generation” Villari brothers, Sam, Joe, and Rocco, have moved the headquarters of Villari Foods to Warsaw, North Carolina, to be near the area's outstanding livestock production capabilities.

2010


Sam, Joe and Rocco purchase a meat processing plant in Micro, N.C., to begin smoked meats operations.

2011


Smoked meats production moves to Warsaw and begins operating under Villari Brothers, the newly-formed, wholly owned subsidiary of Villari Foods.

2015


Villari Brothers smoked meats operations double in capacity.

2016


The Pork Company’s harvesting capacity increases by 40%.

2017


Villari Brothers launches Never EverTM premium pork, raised without antibiotics, and the Smokehouse CraftedTM line of fully cooked smoked chicken and rib products. Plans are underway for the launch of Villari Brothers Organic pork.

2018


Villari Brothers is proud to offer a full line of USDA Certified Organic fresh pork. USDA regulations for organic meat require that animals be raised in living conditions that accommodate their natural behaviors, fed 100% organic feed and forage and not administered antibiotics or hormones.

Next


Villari Foods remains committed to growing and meeting customers' evolving needs, while maintaining the highest standards of quality, food safety, business integrity and customer service.

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