, as seen from across the
West Branch Susquehanna River at
Central Oak Heights In 1924, after leaving his position as head chef at the
Plaza Hotel in New York City,
Ettore Boiardi opened a restaurant called Il Giardino d'Italia ("The Garden of Italy") at East 9th Street and Woodland Avenue in
Cleveland, Ohio. The idea for Chef Boiardi came about when restaurant customers began asking Boiardi for his spaghetti sauce, which he began to distribute in milk bottles. He decided to anglicize and phonetically spell out the name of his product as "Boy-Ar-Dee" to help Americans pronounce his name correctly. By 1938, the company had outgrown its Ohio facility, and production was moved to
Milton, Pennsylvania, where they could grow their own mushrooms and there was a ready supply of tomatoes. Boiardi remained as a spokesman and consultant for the brand until 1978 and appeared in television commercials for the brand. In 2025, Chef Boyardee was sold to
Brynwood Partners under its portfolio company Hometown Food Company. ==Advertising==