Victoria - Our Past

In 1923 a newly married couple named Maria and Pelligrino Aquilina set out from Palermo Sicily on a journey that would forever change their lives and the lives of generations to follow. On a cold and dreary November day, they landed at Ellis Island, just like thousands of immigrants both before and after them. America was the land of opportunity and this was a dream come true.

Pellegrino, a baker and pastry maker by trade, found little opportunity for his chosen profession and became a mason, as did so many Italian immigrants before him and Maria found work in a dress factory. Together they scrimped and saved, and in 1926 opened a small grocery store in the Bath Beach section of Brooklyn. Maria, an excellent cook, canned the wonderful delicacies of her native Sicily in the tiny backroom of the store. She quickly developed a following of customers who craved her outstanding recipes; she made her wonderful eggplants, peppers and pickles and in 1929, a wholesale company named Victoria born. Maria spent countless hours cooking, while Pelligrino peddled the canned items from his truck.

As the demand for Victoria's products grew, the business flourished and a small factory was established on Waverly Avenue in Brooklyn. In 1939, Pellegrino's first son Joseph joined the firm but soon was off fighting courageously for his country in World War II. Upon his return, he changed the way business was done. With his new ideas and innovations, Victoria once again expanded and in 1970, it moved to its present location in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn. In 1961, Joe's oldest son, Benjamin, and in 1975, his youngest son Gerald, joined the firm. Today Victoria is still a family business, one which has not forgotten the principles of its founder or its family roots.