Teresa (
née Piacentini) Marzetti was born in 1878 in
Florence, Italy and came to the United States at the age of 18. After arriving in
Columbus, Ohio by way of
Genoa and then
Ellis Island, New York, she married Joseph Marzetti, who was also an immigrant born in Italy. Joseph Marzetti died in 1911, but Teresa continued to run the business and in 1919, she opened a second location on Gay Street, followed by the closure of the original
University District site a few years later. Marzetti remarried in April of 1924 to Carl Schaufele. A Marzetti staple was its homemade salad dressings, which began to be sold via mail shortly following the founding of the business, along with diet
mayonnaise. Employee Katharine Hill is credited with the creation of Marzetti's dressing line. While it is sometimes said that Teresa invented the
Midwestern casserole dish Johnny Marzetti and named it after her brother-in-law, the company said that there is no evidence for this story and it is not one the T. Marzetti corporation shares. Attribution of the dish to Teresa dates to at least 1973 in a statement by the president of T. Marzetti. In 1940, Marzetti's operations moved to 16 East
Broad Street, across from the
Ohio Statehouse, its most well-known location and one which was well-regarded in the city. == Products ==