Saucy Decision At Age 74
Rochester Democrat And Chronicle:
Dreams don’t die with age. Just ask Tom LaChiusa, who at 74 began mass producing his own sauce under the label Tommiell Products.
The agile senior citizen opened his own sauce-making plant at 1237 E. Main St. last week, the fulfillment of a dream deferred for nearly 20 years.
“We’ve gone without for a while, and now it’s happening,” said LaChiusa, who has used every dime of his paycheck and wife Diane’s 401(k) plan to lease the 3,000-square-foot space.
LaChiusa, a self-taught cook, has made his own sauce for more than 40 years, specializing in marinara and pasta sauces. The company is best-known for his specialty, which is called Hertzauce.
“I call it that because it only hurts when it’s gone.”
LaChiusa started making sauce as a hobby after retiring in 1988 from his beverage company called Tommy’s Dari-del. In his spare time, he took a job as a bartender, which helped provide a testing ground for his recipes.
When he got the sauce recipe down to a science, he had it bottled. He eventually convinced an independent market, Hegedorn’s in Webster, to carry it. But bottling companies weren’t willing to take on such small orders, so he put the business on hold.
To earn money to start his own production facility, he got a job as a bus driver for Webster Transportation.
“There were a lot of ups and downs,” said Diane LaChiusa, 56. “It took a lot to get to this point, which I thought I’d never see.”
The Webster couple say they experience a sense of freedom now when they walk into their new production facility, which is completely paid for.
Tom LaChiusa said it’s the start of a legacy that he hopes will take care of his family for years to come. LaChiusa’s wife, four children and five grandchildren will at some point help run the company, while Grandpa hits the road signing up accounts for a business that now includes nine sauces.
Photo by MSDesigns.
ImNiche on December 19th, 2007 7:52 am
I love it. Just because someone is “over the hill” doesn’t mean they can’t start a business. Look at Col. Sanders and KFC.
Owen on December 21st, 2007 3:47 am
Great drive and determination. I love to hear stories like this. I know several people over 50 who just talk about their dreams of achieving success in business. Then I say, “com’on, you can do it” and they say, “Naw, I’m too old”. I take my hat off to this guy and from Sydney Australia I say,”Good on ya,digger”
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