Coloquio Online

A Baltimore institution, Pompeian Oil company, celebrates 100 years in the city

Celebrations lasted three days and included Certificates of Honorary Citizenship at City Hall to all 7 members of the Moreno family of Cordoba, Spain who have owned the company since 1975 --the third family to own the company since 1906.

Celebrations included lunch at McCormick and Schmidt, a tour of the Baltimore Museum of Art, dinner at Tio Pepe, lunch and tours of the plant on Pulaski Highway the next day and a cruise on the Patapsco. More than 200 people were invited by the Moreno family to the brilliant festivities.

Our congratulations to Pompeian Oil Company and the distinguished Moreno family for its long partnership with the city of Baltimore.

Pompeian marks 100 years of operation in Baltimore

by Bruce Miller, The Examiner
May 10, 2006 7:00 AM (1 day ago)

The company has changed hands a few times in the last 100 years, but Pompeian’s presence in Baltimore has remained steadfast.

And today, the olive oil, wine vinegar and cooking wine company, owned by the Moreno family of Spain, is marking its 100th anniversary with a two-day celebration at its importing and bottling facility outside of downtown Baltimore.

“It’s nice that they’ve been here for 100 years, and we’d like to keep them for another 100” years, said Aris Melissaratos, secretary of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. “There aren’t too many companies that have been around this long. [The company] fits in with Baltimore’s ethnic heritage, port heritage and merchant heritage.”

Frank Patton, president of Pompeian, said the company’s decision to have its headquarters in Baltimore was based on logistics and the proximity of the Port of Baltimore.

“Even now, though, you still have an ideal location as far as reaching a huge population,” Patton said. “It’s been a commitment by management and the ownership of the company to continue to take advantage of the benefits we do have in the Baltimore area.”

Aside from its proximity to a large number of people, Patton said the company has remained in Baltimore due to the city’s available work force in addition to the huge investment the company has made with its plant and distribution facilities on Pulaski Highway.

Patton added that in recent years the company’s growth has been on the fast track as U.S. consumers have taken an increased interest in the health benefits of olive oil.

“It’s exploded over the past 10 to 15 years,” Patton said. “The U.S. culinary tastes are changing and we’ve benefited from that considerably. … I think the American palate has become more sophisticated in the past 10 to 15 years.”

According to Patton, the company has doubled in size in the past five years and has increased its product offerings to include wine vinegar and cooking wine, which is imported from Spain. The company reported more than $75 million in sales last year and employs 50 people.

bmiller@baltimoreexaminer.com