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Chicago’s Original Italian Beef Hits the Shelves For the First Time With Buona in Texas

By: Buona |  6 Shares     2,681 Reads

The Family Behind Chicago’s Leading Italian Beef Brand Debuts Signature Retail Products at Central Market Stores

November 06, 2024 // Franchising.com // CHICAGO – Buona [bone’ah], the family-owned company behind Chicago’s leading Italian beef brand, announced today that it will be the first to bring Italian beef retail products to the great state of Texas this October. Shoppers can now purchase heat-and-serve Buona Beef 34-ounce tubs that serve up to four people exclusively in the frozen food aisles at select Central Market stores in Dallas, Houston Austin and San Antonio.

The Buonavolanto family is among a small group of Italian Americans who opened Chicago’s first Italian beef stands. Italian beef consists of slow-roasted beef that creates an all-natural, perfectly seasoned "au jus" (in Chicago, they call it gravy). The sandwich is made from thinly sliced beef that's been soaking in the gravy piled high on top of French bread. Today, Buona is the only large-scale brand that follows the original process for cooking Italian beef.

“It takes the right ingredients and the right method to make Italian beef the way it was made when it was invented in the early 1900s. Over time, my grandfather perfected our own family recipe for Italian beef sandwiches, and Buona took off from there,” said Joe Buonavolanto III, Executive Vice President of The Buona Companies, the parent company of Buona restaurants and Chicago's Original Rainbow Cone, its sister brand. “Italian beef has been the ‘national’ sandwich of Chicago for several decades, and we’re on a mission to bring it to grocery stores and add Buona restaurants to our more than 30 locations across the country.”

Buona’s product is an all-natural and easy-to-prepare meal for family dinners and gatherings of all kinds. Adventurous Texans are encouraged to dip the ends of the bread (or even submerge the entire sandwich) in the gravy. At-home cooks can sauté a few slices “sweet” bell peppers to top off the sandwich to create a classic or Chicago experience.

The launch of the brand’s retail line inside Central Market stores is part of the Buona family’s founding dream of bringing its family’s Italian beef recipe to more communities nationwide. To date, the company has signed agreements to develop at least 10 new eateries across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

“We’re always looking for new and interesting products to introduce to our shoppers,” said Guy Chandonnet, a business development manager for Central Market in Texas.“With the demand for Italian beef offerings taking off after ‘The Bear’ debuted on Hulu, we chose to partner with a retail line of the Chicago staple that shared our commitment to quality and authenticity. Buona stood out because of the brand’s rich history, commitment to all-natural ingredients, and the family’s passion for the dish.”

Buona was founded in 1981 by Joe and Peggy Buonavolanto, who dreamed of sharing their family recipes to their friends and neighbors. Four decades, three generations and 30 restaurants later, the brand has become a Chicagoland staple and is widely recognized as one of the best Italian beef sandwiches in the city. In 2016, Buona launched its first line of Italian Beef retail products, which included Italian beef, sausage, giardiniera (mild and hot) and meatballs. The line was an immediate success and currently makes up about 50% of the market share of the Italian beef business in the nearly 2,500 grocers across Illinois, Southeast Wisconsin and Northwest Indiana.

For more information about Buona’s retail products, visit www.buona.com/shop/.

For more information about Buona’s eateries, visit www.buona.com.

SOURCE Buona

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Media Contact:

Emily Cashen  ‭
(847) ‭‭‭971-2350
ecashen@allpointspr.com 

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