The idea for our Company began in 1996 in St. Clairsville, Ohio, when famed baker Carmela Nardone Massa, with her award-winning desserts, was collecting first prizes in local baking contests. While the local restaurants interest and fascination was no surprise to Mrs. Massa, she realized that other food-related businesses could be drawn by similar experiences to appreciate her culinary talents and creativity. Shortly thereafter, she began to arrange for in-house baking shows, to take place in her basement facilities. 

As a result of these shows, Mrs. Massa’s brother, Mr. Luciano Nardone, an Italian & Latin translator, was eager to join her efforts to rein in sprawl and to enhance Carmela’s unique culinary abilities by proposing to start a coalition, uniting both sleeves to one arm along defining overlying joining sections, and removing the adjacent boundaries to allow access to both business from one insider body piece.

Central Italian Company was therefore launched in 1996, with the belief that a direct professional contact could awaken and stimulate a strong sense of beauty and creativity. They also recognized the urgent need to give their best by bringing skills together in a familiar setting where both could be enriched.

From the start, the Company was blessed with the support of finest coffee shops. Mrs. Massa’s friends encompassed a vast network of coffeehouses which became the nucleus of many corporate sponsors.  At the same time, training programs were designed to teach the visitors how to work most effectively with their passion for desserts, from cookies to biscotti to cakes.

In the early years, the Owner's efforts were focused on expanding the products through the development of a client network.  By 1997, this network included customers in Cleveland, New York City, Baltimore, Columbus, Philadelphia, and Boston. In the early 1998, major help from the Wild Oats Markets enabled the Company to expand its operations, and the network grew to include 19 States.

In the 1999, the Company grew into a truly national network of customers. In 2000, It continued to grow and expand its role as a full service business to private institutions and communities. Thanks to purchases from major corporations, the Company produced biscotti and cookies, developed major partnerships, and established an online business to ensure quality customer service and to keep track of client feedback. Their web page quickly became the model page for many emerging biscotti Companies.  

Since 2001, Central Italian Company got a national attention of newspaper and magazine articles, and it even received a Fine Living Selects Award from the renown FINE LIVING network. The cookies were featured on the Network on national broadcasts dedicated to Citrus Desserts. 

During the most recent years, the Company has been engaging in other important and continuing projects, designing new shapes and cookie styles and innovating new ways of promoting the joy of baking. Our commitment to classical Italian taste continues even today. Our cookies have the ability to immerse their lovers in a world of classical flavors, while teaching them a healthy and delicious way to eat. 

We continue to assess the present and future needs of our clients, trying to determine how to best respond to modern challenges. Central Italian Company is positioning itself for future growth, and more importantly, to make an even greater difference in the lives of our customers.