Kenosha pasta company goes out of business
A Kenosha-based manufacturer of fresh, heat-and-eat pasta is no more. An auction was held Dec. 10 to liquidate the assets of Romance Foods Co., Inc., to satisfy creditors after president Robert Ramsay could not secure financing for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.
Ramsay had worked feverishly up to the last minute, trying to broker an agreement that would save the company, which he had purchased from Johnsonville Foods, of Kohler, in October 1999.
"There are still some things that are happening," Ramsay said Dec. 4. "I have some parties who are talking directly with my lender. It is a very viable business, but it is a matter of being able to raise capital."
Ramsay is a West Point graduate with a master’s degree in business administration who has held executive positions with General Motors, Philip Morris and CitiBank. He has also taught finance and entrepreneurship at Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y., and managed federal prison factories for the U.S. Department of Justice. Before purchasing Romance Foods, Ramsay was fired from an executive position at Steeltech Co., a former Milwaukee-based defense contractor, after he testified against that company’s management about their attempts to prevent union organization at the plant.
Romance Foods had provided some private label manufacturing, but specialized in its branded product line of ready-to-heat pastas and sauces. The products, which ranged from stuffed pastas such as torteloni and ravioli to pesto and alfredo sauces, contained no preservatives, but were stable in a refrigerated environment for 75 days.
Romance Foods microwave-pasteurized its pasta and sauce when they were already packaged in barrier film.
Ramsay had hoped the quickly prepared products would capitalize on the growing popularity of convenience foods.
However, the products had difficulty competing in grocery stores against products from larger manufacturers. Early on, the products were added to the selections at the Kenosha location of Woodman’s Food Market.
"The Romance products have not been distributed here for about a year," said Joe Schweminger, a dairy clerk at the Kenosha Woodman’s. "We now only actually carry two different brands, Digiorno and Creamette. They both have other products in our dry goods section."
Even with the extended shelf life, the lower level of awareness and preference for the Romance Foods pastas and sauces led to spoilage, according to Schweminger.
"As I understand it, we had to throw out half of our product," Schweminger said. The Romance products fared better in specialty retail outlets, including Tenuta’s Delicatessen & Liquors, Kenosha.
"We haven’t had it for over a year," said Tony Bonano, Tenuta’s deli manager. "We couldn’t get the product. I don’t know what’s going on. The items we sold were pretty good. There are still people asking for it. I was selling some of their pesto and the alfredo. That is a good pasta."
Dec. 20, 2002 Small Business Times, Milwaukee
