Grandma Martino's Italian Sauce - Certified Georgia Grown Sauce

Our Story

Our Story

Our Heritage & Story

"Since I was a little girl, I remember the luscious smell of my Grandma Martino’s Italian Sauce cooking on the stove. When my parents made the sauce from Grandma Martino’s unwritten recipe, it was a way to bring back the happy memories of her home."

— Loretta Holmes, Founder

Chapter I • 1903

The Sicilian Immigrant

Joseph Martino was a Sicilian immigrant to America in 1903. His parents were Andrew & Frances Martino. He was somewhere between 16 & 18 when he got on the SS Roma in Naples, Italy in August and arrived in the New York harbor on September 11, 1903. In Sicily, he was an apprentice to a violin maker and learned the trade there. He loved the violin, but never learned to play because the teacher told him that his hands were too stubby. So, he settled on becoming a violin maker.

After coming to America, he was assimilated in the Italian community in NYC. He found work as a violin-maker and he was in that business until he died at the age of 82. He worked for various music supply houses and he made & repaired violins, cellos, and violas. In the early years of his residency in America, he worked, saved his money and brought over at least one member of his immediate family every year until they all settled in the USA.

Chapter II • 1923

A Match & Two Cuisines

Mary Angela Mazzaro came over from Naples, Italy as a 3-year old girl in 1908. Her parents Antonio & Concetta settled in the North End of Boston. Mary’s brother Louie was a violinist and went to Joseph Martino’s music shop to order a violin. When Joseph delivered the finished product, he met Mary who was around 17 years old. After a short courtship, they married in 1923. At their marriage, Mary was 18 and Joseph was 38.

Mary was an excellent cook and learned to cook Italian food from her mother. When she got married, her husband Joseph wanted her to adapt to cooking more Sicilian dishes, and so she ultimately married the two cuisines. Her delicious Sicilian-Italian sauce (gravy) was always in a pot on her stove, adapting it a little with meat or fish. Food and wine was always available in Mary’s kitchen and was offered to all who visited.

Chapter III • 1950s

Stationed in Boston

In the early 1950s, my Daddy (Sam) was stationed in Boston, Massachusetts while his ship was in port. He met my mother, Frances Martino, who lived in Hingham, MA. Sam would visit Frances at her home, where Mary always had a pot of “gravy” cooking on the stove. Sam was the cook for the Naval Officers aboard the USS Lewis Hancock, and he got Mary to teach him how to make her Italian sauce to impress the officers. It was a huge hit, and Daddy continued to learn from Mary while in port.

Chapter IV • 2015 & Rebirth

The Georgia Connection

When my Daddy was discharged, they moved to his home in South Georgia. Daddy was the main cook in our home, and he taught my sisters and me how to make Grandma’s sauce. It was always a welcome treat. After I retired in 2015, I started cooking a lot more for friends. A couple of years later, I decided to bottle it and sell it locally. This is the story of how Grandma Martino’s Italian Sauce was reborn!

LOVE + FOOD + FAMILY = GRANDMA MARTINO’S ITALIAN SAUCE

Buon appetito! — Loretta Holmes