Greco Canning Company
| Business |
Cannery |
|---|---|
| Main Location |
San Jose, CA |
| Active |
1913-1938 |
| Brands |
De Luxe, Korona, Alta Villa (1919) |
| Predecessors |
Santa Clara Valley Canning Company |
Greco Canning was a San Jose canner that operated on Autumn Street from around 1913 through 1938 run by Victor Greco. The company bought the Santa Clara Valley Canning Company's "three-line" cannery on Taylor Street in 1921[1][2].
Greco was the world's largest tomato canner during World War II[3] and "one of the largest canners of string beans". The company also made Grepo, a processed grape syrup. They started by selling primarily to the "Latin" market. They also manufactured tomato paste products, with Edith Daley commenting on their boiler for making toms-butter (tomato paste) being "big enough to boil Lake Michigan, Saginaw included!"[4].
The company ceased operation in 1938. It may have restarted in 1941 only to be sold to the Almaden Packing company, which was organized only to buy Greco.[5] (A later source claimed that Greco was sold to Mission Valley Canning Company in September 1953[6].) The plant later became the home of the Mission Valley Canning Company.
A 1920's employee photo in the Greco Family Archive on Facebook shows that the warehouse for the cannery was being operated by the Lawrence Warehouse Company.
A 1916 lawsuit over the size of cans delivered gives some details about the process of selling tomatoes wholesale[7].
Locations
| Location | Years | Address | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose | 1913-1945 | Howard and Autumn |
Photos
Greco Canning Co., San Jose John C. Gordon Collection / San Jose Library
Details
SP Valuation Map shows grant from City of San Jose to Greco Canning to cross Autumn Street, signed 1928.
References
- ↑ Cannery Notes: October 1922 Canning Age
- ↑ Greco People Buy Big 'Three Line' Cannery: September 18, 1922 San Jose Evening News. 'from a small beginning in 1913 to a point where it is now the largest canner of string beans in California, and the largest independent packer of tomato products on the west coast.'
- ↑ Frederick W. Marrazzo, Italians in the Santa Clara Valley, Arcadia Publishing, 20xx.
- ↑ Toma-Butter Soon to Appear on Every Table: August 2, 1919 San Jose Evening News
- ↑ Greco Canning Property Sold: Jan. 2, 1945 San Jose Evening News
- ↑ September 1953 Western Canner and Packer
- ↑ Greco Canning Company vs. P. Pastene and Co., September 15, 1922, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.