Celebrating a Century of Family Tradition…
The history of our family business dates back to 1893 when my Great Grandfather Francesco (Mauro) a fisherman from St. Agatha, Sicily came to the United States of America. Living with relatives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin he peddled produce so he could make enough to bring his family to America from Sicily. In 1896 my grandfather, Anton Jennaro, along with his mother, and 2 brothers, were then able to come to America. Anton who at a young age helped distribute produce with his father, eventually built our current warehouse located in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. His company, was the first wholesale produce company, to own the largest refrigerated vehicles for transporting goods throughout the state.
My father Tony Zingale was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He learned the retail trade from his father, Frank Zingale, a well established retailer who owned and operated eight stores in the Cleveland area. After moving to Wisconsin in 1948, my father married my mother Ann Jennaro and worked for her father Anton Jennaro learning the wholesale produce trade until 1960 when my father together with my mother opened their own wholesale produce business in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
As the tradition continues, I, Rosemarie Zingale, proudly established my own business in 1989, after having learned the trade from my father. My husband Jamie and I are the fourth generation of the Jennaro-Zingale Legacy with over twenty years of wholesale distribution and retail experience throughout Sheboygan, Milwaukee, and Wisconsin, expanding into Michigan, and have remained in our expanded Sheboygan facility built by my grandfather, Anton Jennaro in 1923.
Our values, dedication, loyalty, and commitment to our customers, are derived from tradition originating with my grandfather, Anton Jennaro. A tradition that was learned from practice, customs, or stories that were memorized and passed down from generation to generation, originally without the need for a writing system. Although our era is constantly changing with increased technology and resources, we have one asset that is unsurpassed, family tradition.
A. J. Wholesale Produce Inc., supplies the freshest fruit, vegetables, herbs, and dairy products. As many farmers also value and exist through tradition, we have developed a business relationship built from history, allowing us a unique ability to acquire quality products unattainable in a larger commercial market. We are dedicated to customer satisfaction and therefore have our quality assurance department carefully hand select the produce to ensure that only the finest quality goes to our customers. Our hand selection and specialized packaging is our attribute and pledge of excellence that is distinctive from other wholesale produce companies.
“Quality Focused” • “Customer Centered” • “Traditionally Inspired”