After 100 years, the sausage kings of Denver are going nationwide

The Polidori household arrived at McGregor Sq. in downtown Denver on the day of the April 4 Colorado Rockies residence opener decked in group gear and jackets with the brand of their firm, Polidori Sausage, stitched on the entrance.

Above the household title was the quantity 100. What started as a humble mom-and-pop grocer and butcher store a century in the past is now a well-greased sausage manufacturing facility, promoting its merchandise to big-name distributors corresponding to Shamrock Meals, US Meals and Sysco, which get them to main sporting venues corresponding to Ball Enviornment and Coors Discipline.

Later this month, the brother-and-sister duo behind the sausage hyperlinks will switch their supply system to Dot Transportation, a meals redistribution firm that can carry Polidori Sausage to all 50 states, Melodie Polidori Harris mentioned. It’s a major enterprise for the household and firm, one which she and her brother, Steve Polidori, should not taking frivolously as they attempt to make Polidori a family title across the nation.

Passing distribution duties on to Dot Transportation is “scary and thrilling on the similar time,” mentioned Polidori, who purchased the enterprise from his grandfather in 2001 and introduced his sister on board the next 12 months. The corporate has grown exponentially after a long time of “small, sustained progress,” he mentioned, on the similar time conserving its recipes and enterprise mantra easy.

“Isn’t the sausage enjoyable sufficient by itself?” he requested from inside Coors Discipline, the place Polidori Sausage expanded this season to 3 standalone concessions. A chorizo brat, a hatch chile-and-cheese brat and a jalapeño-cheddar brat are all on the menu and stacked with grilled corn, onions and much more peppers and cheese.

The siblings’ great-grandparents had been Italian immigrants who met in Magna, Utah, and moved to Denver to open their grocery retailer in 1925. Their grandfather, Louis Polidori, and great-uncle took over and ran the shop for many years.

Their mother and father had been far faraway from the enterprise, their father an lawyer and mom a retired choose. Steve Polidori joined his grandfather on the household’s meat-processing facility whereas learning at Colorado State College within the early ’90s and stayed on after commencement.

“I’d name my eating places, get their orders for the week, make the sausage after which ship it,” he mentioned. On a great week, the plant would put together 5,000 kilos of uncooked sausage.

Now, on the firm’s facility within the Park Hill neighborhood, the place Polidori Sausage relocated 9 years in the past, they’re shifting 80,000 to 100,000 kilos per week, Polidori mentioned. About 80 p.c of that, Polidori Harris estimated, are orders from eating places, stadiums, resorts and faculties.

Its latest shopper is Anthony’s Pizza and Pasta, Polidori Harris mentioned, a Colorado franchise with 18 areas within the state.

“Their century-long, family-run legacy in Colorado aligns completely with our values and dedication to high quality,” Anthony’s CEO Garrett Brizendine mentioned in a press release. “You’ll quickly see their daring, genuine taste featured in a number of of our sausage-based gadgets — a real native collaboration we’re proud to share.”

The siblings and Polidori Harris’ son, William Polidori Harris, had been at McGregor Sq. for a pregame mixer organized by the group for its main supporters and companions. After seven years contained in the stadium, their brats are actually in virtually each concession, Melodie mentioned. Her brother nonetheless will get excited each time their firm brand and final title flash on the stadium’s digital banners.

William represents the fifth era of the Polidori Sausage household. He did so proudly on the sport, topped in a black cap with “SAUSAGE” written on the entrance. He attended CSU and joined the corporate quickly after, first with human assets and now as a part of the gross sales group.

“I order a number of pork and a number of spices,” he mentioned, including that prospects on the whole are trending towards a “clear label” like that of the household’s recipes.