In 1890, Italian-born immigrant Domenico DeDomenico moved to
California, where he established a fresh produce store. A successful businessman, he married Maria Ferrigno from
Salerno,
Italy. Back home, her family owned a pasta factory, so in 1912 she persuaded him to establish a similar business in the
Mission District of
San Francisco. The enterprise was "
Gragnano Products, Inc." It delivered
pasta to Italian stores and restaurants in the area. DeDomenico's sons, Paskey,
Vince (1915–2007), Tom, and Anthony, worked with him. In 1934, Paskey changed the name to "Golden Grain Macaroni Company". Tom's wife, Lois, was inspired by the
pilaf recipe she received from Armenian immigrant
Pailadzo Captanian, to create a dish of rice and macaroni, which she served at a family dinner. In 1958, Vince invented Rice-A-Roni by adding a dry chicken soup mix to rice and macaroni. It was introduced in 1958 in the
Northwestern United States and went nationwide three years later. Because of its origins, it was called "The San Francisco Treat!" It is loosely based on the
Levantine pilaf dish ''rizz bi-sha'riyya''. After a trip to Italy in 1964, Vince returned with the idea for "Noodle Roni Parmesano", based on
Fettuccine Alfredo. As the product line extended with other shapes and sauces it was renamed from Noodle Roni to Pasta Roni in 1995. In 1986,
Quaker Oats Company purchased the Golden Grain Company from the DeDomenico family. In 2001, the Quaker Oats Company was purchased by
PepsiCo.
American Italian Pasta Company bought the Golden Grain brand in 2003, but the sale did not include Rice-a-Roni, which remained with the Quaker Oats division of PepsiCo. Rice-a-Roni markets low-sodium versions of its primary products. The company has marketed a line of products with brown rice. In 2024, a third line of products called Mac-A-Roni was released in cheddar and white cheddar flavors. == See also ==