Greater Cleveland food entrepreneurs find success in 2020 despite coronavirus challenges

CLEVELAND, Ohio — 2020 was a different year for all of us. Rather than commuting to the office and dropping the kids off at school, we largely stayed home. We didn’t go out to eat, meet friends at a bar or go to live performances.

It was no different for Cleveland’s Best reporters Brenda Cain and Yadi Rodriguez, who were used to logging hundreds of miles as they sought the very best Northeast Ohio has to offer. Just like you, we pivoted to seeking the best items on grocery store shelves.

And while we consumed hundreds of products – everything from pasta sauces to frozen pizzas to barbecue sauces to cocoa mixes (and more) – we found, much to our own surprise, locally produced pantry staples that top the well-known national brands.

But with the pandemic in full force, and businesses closing by the hundreds nationally, we wondered how the local purveyors were faring, so we checked in with them to see how they are doing as the unprecedented 2020 year came to a close.

Florentine Pasta Sauce

After 34 years of serving Italian fare to devoted Columbus diners, Florentine closed its doors. But third generation restauranteur Nick Penzone was not ready to let go of his family legacy, so just before COVID-19 took hold in the United States, he launched his small line of pasta sauces at farmer’s markets around the state and in a few independent markets in the Cleveland area.

He contacted us after seeing our rankings of 174 jarred pasta sauces from local grocery stores and asked us to compare his three sauces — all made using his grandfather’s recipes.

Considered an essential business, Penzone and one employee were able to continue to manufacture the Florentine line. Requests for the restaurant’s entrees have continued to flood his email inbox, so Penzone has been busy launching a ghost kitchen in Columbus featuring 10 of the most popular menu items from his family’s eatery.

In addition, Penzone has added the house dressing to his line of bottled sauces this year.

Branch BBQ Sauce

The day our ranking of 79 barbecue sauces we purchased at Giant Eagle published in June, we received an email from employees at Branch BBQ Sauce in Lakewood asking us to try their sauce “just to see how we stack up to your top picks.”

Launched with just two flavors, the company was just 11 months old and was growing quickly when we first tasted them. Come August, the sauce maker had inked a deal with Platform Beer Co. to be sold in its restaurants and released two more sauces and a pub mustard.

When we checked back in mid-December, 12 restaurant/brewery locations had added Branch to its menus — Platform Beer locations in Cleveland and Columbus; all Cleveland-area Two Bucks locations; and Missing Falls Brewery in Akron. The Grocery in Ohio City and Zagara’s Marketplace in Cleveland Heights have added Branch sauces to their prepared foods offerings.

In addition, the sauce is now being sold at Whole Foods locations across the state, with the Pinecrest store being the top seller, according to Chris Tarr, the inventor of the original sauce.

“The good news we just got is that we are going to be in 55 Kroger locations throughout Ohio,” Tarr said. When we spoke, he was in negotiations with Meijer to carry sauces in its locations in Ohio and Michigan.

Currently, Branch is available in 15 states: Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Alabama, Illinois, Missouri, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

Outsiders Pizza

Even before local grocers began experiencing runs on certain foods and supplies due to the coronavirus pandemic, stores in Greater Cleveland began seeing a shortage of one particular frozen pizza brand – Outsiders Pizza.

Outsiders Pizza Company, a boutique brand backed by Nestle in Solon that concentrates on Midwest styles and flavors, was noticing orders from grocers steadily increase. After we ate and ranked 130 frozen pizzas at the beginning of 2020, our top 2 favorites were both from the Outsiders line.

In July, the company expanded the line to include two Chicago-Style pizzas.

According to Katie Harley, a marketing specialist for the brand, “we’ve been making pizzas as fast as we can to keep up with the huge increase in demand. We’re seeing lots of new trial and new fans introduced to the brand this year.”

In Northeast Ohio, you can find Outsiders Pizza at Target, Giant Eagle and Meijer.

Hot Cocoa Bombs

During winter months, we are all looking for a comforting indulgence and what better way to warm our bodies and our spirits than with a big mug of hot cocoa?

That’s why we tasted – and ranked – 61 hot cocoa mixes found on local grocery store shelves. Shortly after our story was published, we found an even more decadent way to warm up — hot cocoa bombs.

Local pastry chef Erica Coffee, who works at the Rustic Grill at StoneWater in Highland Heights, created hollow balls of dark and white chocolate filled with house-made cocoa mix and toppings like marshmallows and candy cane pieces.

The Bombs “explode” when hot milk is poured over them to produce a rich, creamy cocoa.

What was meant as an indulgent ender for diners in the restaurant has become a popular item for gifting. Coffee and a small staff is now spending most days making the hot cocoa bombs to keep up with demand.