How it all began...

Noodles by Leonardo is a family-held company originating in Cando, North Dakota. The founder, Leonard Gasparre, an Italian-American entrepreneur, conceived the idea of a totally integrated mill/pasta plant fashioned after the plants in Italy. The idea was to build this integrated plant in the heart of Durum Wheat Country. In the mid-1970’s 80% of all Durum Wheat grown in the United States was grown in a ninety-mile radius of Cando, North Dakota. Bringing a Durum Mill to the source of the primary raw material was a novel idea. Pasta production is very basic. The heart of the durum kernel (Semolina), mixed with water, and extruded through shaping dies produces the pasta that appears on the store shelves. Noodles by Leonardo was the first integrated Mill/Production Facility in the United States. It eliminated the need to ship semolina half way across the United States to pasta production facilities that were primarily located on the East Coast or the Lower Midwest. It also allowed for the selection of the finest durum from the area.

All pasta producers know that ...

"the better the semolina the better the pasta".

In 1978 Mr. Gasparre formed Noodles by Leonardo. He equipped the Cando facility with state of the art milling equipment and processing lines. The mill and processing lines produced their first pound of pasta in 1980. Initially most of the production went to Food Service Customers, filling USDA contracts and doing a limited amount of retail packaging. Soon our reputation as a quality pasta producer was being talked about throughout the industry. Our reputation was primarily due to the fact that we could control the quality of the raw materials coming into our facility.

In 1984 one of our large accounts asked if we could produce Macaroni & Cheese. Our answer, "Why not". We started producing Macaroni & Cheese in a 24-pack case as the customer had requested. It was during this startup that Mr. Gasparre came up with the idea of a Graphic 12-pack case. The 12-pack Macaroni and Cheese rode the success of the Club Stores in the 1980’s. We were producing tens of thousands of these packs for the Club Stores. Club Store packs of 4# Veggie Spirelle (tri-colored rotini) and club pack Lasagna propelled us into the next chapter of our history.

We knew we could produce pasta with the best of them but we also knew that we could also be a strong player in the value-added pasta category. The Cando facility could no longer keep up with the demand. The dry pasta side of our business was booming and taking away from our capacity to broaden our efforts in the value-added side of the business. In 1989 Leonard made the decision to build a second plant. Devils Lake, North Dakota was chosen as the site for the new expansion. Just 35 miles from Cando, Devils Lake could easily be supplied with semolina from the Cando facility without the expense of building another mill.

Actual production began at the Devils Lake facility in 1993. Devils Lake was to be our value-added facility. It now produces a wide variety of products including: Macaroni & Cheese, Pasta & Sauce (pouch), Dry Pasta Dinners, Rice & Pasta Dinners and Single Serve Cup Items such as flavored oatmeal, flavored farina, flavored instant potatoes and flavored rice dishes. It also produces a line of sliced potato meals (Scalloped, Au Gratin, Sour Cream & Chive, and Roasted Garlic).

Presently our facilities play two distinct roles. Cando produces our dry pasta line of retail and food service cuts while Devils Lake produces the value-added products. This allows us to be very flexible. Both facilities can produce dry pasta if needed and both can produce the value-added lines of products as well.

Noodles by Leonardo is very intent on providing the best packaging for consumer acceptance. The packaging industry has presented awards to Noodles by Leonardo on several occasions to attest to consumer approval. The graphics and vivid pictures of prepared pasta are used to increase awareness on the supermarket shelf and depict the quality of the product. Thus, the unit sales are increasing consistently with each visit the consumer makes to the supermarket.

Innovation has been and will always be the hallmark of Noodles by Leonardo. Providing the consumer with top quality products at an affordable price has always been at the forefront of our organization. Our emphasis toward consumer satisfaction is the reason Noodles by Leonardo remains a key player in the pasta industry. We are small enough to adjust quickly to new trends or requirements of the trade but yet large enough to meet high volume demands. Through innovation, continued emphasis toward providing the consumer with top quality products at an affordable price, plus twenty-five years of pasta know-how, the future looks bright for Noodles by Leonardo.