History

The Early Years

  • In the early 1900’s, Francesco Calise immigrated to the United States from the Isle of Ischia, Italy. Francesco was in pursuit of the American Dream and in 1908, he founded Calise & Sons Bakery, Inc.
  • The original bakery was a small retail bakery located in the Federal Hill section of Providence and produced fresh Italian breads and rolls as well as Italian pastries, biscuits and cookies. These products were then delivered house to house first by horse and buggy, and later by truck.
  • When Francesco retired in 1954, his four sons, Gaetano, Peter, Michael and Joseph succeeded him. The second-generation brothers continued to focus on retail sales and home delivery and experienced very little growth.

The ‘70’s & ‘80’s

  • The business was virtually bankrupt when it was sold in 1972 to the third generation of Calises- Michael, Robert and Joseph. The third generation brothers closed the retail bakery and began to focus on wholesale accounts.
  • In 1979 the bakery moved its operations to the Silver Lake section of Providence. This was a larger bakery and offered the opportunity to expand production and sales. It was during the next two decades that the bakery flourished to become one of the leading specialty bakeries in the Northeast.
  • The company experienced rapid growth in the 1980’s by acquiring competitors that were either going out of business or being sold. These acquisitions allowed the business to expand its route distribution, sales staff and customer base.

The ‘90’s

  • In the early 1990’s the bakery was yet again considering expansion to a larger facility. Instead of moving, the Calise brothers invested in more efficient machinery to increase productivity in the Silver Lake bakery. After a few more years of rapid growth and with the addition of a national account, the bakery was at full capacity.
  • In 1997, the Calise brothers and their management team began planning a new bakery.
  • In 1999 Calise & Sons broke ground for its new bakery. The new bakery would provide growth potential for the next several years. The family was excited and thrilled to see its vision of a new bakery developing day by day.

The New Millennium

  • In July of 2000 Calise & Sons opened its brand new, state of the art bakery in Lincoln, RI. The bakery contains its first fully automated production line in the history of the business.
  • In 2002 Calise and Sons strengthened its relationship w/its major distributor to bring the Calise brand to new geographic markets. Over the next few years, the Calise brand continued to grow to be the market leader in roll sales.
  • In May of 2007 the management of daily operations transitioned to Michael R. Calise, President and 4th generation leader of the company. A strong senior management team is in place to assist Michael and a Board of Directors is formed. The Calise family also celebrates the graduation of Michael C. Calise from the American Institute of Baking. Michael, also 4th generation is now Quality Control Manager.
  • Calise & Sons Bakery celebrates its 100th Anniversary in 2008. The Calise Family is extremely proud of their growth as a company and their contribution to the community over the years. The Calise brand grows even stronger and is now found in all states from Maine to Virginia.