Di Fiore Canning Company
| Business |
Cannery |
|---|---|
| Main Location |
San Jose |
| Active |
1913-1940 |
| Brands |
Di Fiore, El Marino, Dominetta, Cupertino. |
The Di Fiore Canning Company was a canner in San Jose from 1913 to 1940. The cannery was located at San Carlos St. at Porter (now Leigh) Avenue[1]. The cannery was closed by 1940, and the building was torn down for a subdivision by 1950. The Buena Vista Neighborhood History gives some details on their local cannery.
The company was founded by Salvatore Di Fiore and Dominic DiFiore, a former California Packing Corporation employee[2] In 1918, both Di Fiores lived at 106 North 17th Street in San Jose. There may have been intervals when both were not running the company; a certificate of co-ownership for company in April 5, 1919 San Jose Evening News notes that Salvatore had been running the "D. Di Fiore Canning Company" exclusively for the last two years, but Dominic had returned in 1918. (Perhaps military service?) Their family might have been from the east side; the San Francisco Call, October 25, 1895 : "Fruit warehouse of Frank D. Fiore at Berryessa burned at an early hour this morning. About five carloads of prunes were destroyed."
Fire destroyed the cannery on or before July 24, 1915 according to Insurance Press; a temporary structure was built to handle the imminent peach crop[3].
Di Fiore was canning apricots in 1917; a lawsuit claimed that Floyd Bohnett had promised to sell his crop of apricots to the cannery, but only delivered a fraction of the crop[4]
The company's 1922 distributor was Walter M. Field & Company, San Francisco.
Locations
| Location | Years | Address | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose | 1913-1940 | San Carlos St. at Leigh Ave. | Torn down and subdivided in 1950's. (RD #6) |
Photos
Di Fiore house, Stevens Creek Road John C. Gordon Panoramic Collection, San Jose State University
Panorama from Di Fiore Roof. John C. Gordon Panoramic Collection, San Jose State University.
area maps from Buena Vista Neighborhood Association.
Cannery building photo in Arcadia's Portuguese in San Jose. (As DeFury).
References
- ↑ 1915 Sanborn fire insurance map.
- ↑ March 21, 1939 San Jose News article on Charlie Lum, watchman at cannery, says that he'd worked for Dominic DiFiore when he worked for California Packing Corporation, and came along to DiFiore when DiFiore started the company.
- ↑ Di Fiore Cannery Is $100,000 Loss: San Jose Evening News, July 24 1915
- ↑ Di Fiore v. Bohnett, 1921 case of First District, California Appeals Court, Division 2, 54 Cal App. 88.