In 2003, Jordano's will celebrate its 88th year in Santa Barbara. What is today a multi-million dollar corporation with over 500 employees began in 1915 with four brothers, a family loan, and a little grocery store on State Street. From the very start, Jordano's operated on the principle that selling value and service was the cornerstone of business.

When they were just boys, Peter, John, Dominic and Frank Jordano, the sons of an Italian rancher in Goleta, all started working at T. Cornwall and Son Grocery. Peter Jordano, the oldest, spent every day after school at Cornwall's from the time he was 10 years old. Before long his brothers joined him, exploring every aspect of the grocery business from accounting to delivery and distinguishing themselves through hard work and a commitment to education.

All four brothers graduated from Santa Barbara Business College, and they devel­oped a plan to strike out on their own – John Jordano would go to work for a year at a grocery store in Los Angeles to learn the latest about grocery operations, while the others would continue to work at Cornwall's and build their savings. By the time John returned they would be ready to go.

In 1915 there were already a number of grocery stores in Santa Barbara, and the banks were skeptical about a loan for such a shaky enterprise. But three uncles of the Jordanos came up with $500 capital and the brothers were in business. They bought a horse and buggy for deliveries, stocked the shelves on extended credit, and on March 1, 1915 the first Jordano Bros. opened at 706 State St.

Over the following years Jordano's grew tremendously, soon moving up to 729 State St., then on to 1029 State St. The first large market (for 1923) was located at the present downtown site of Nordstrom. The eighth store on upper State Street where Long's Drug Store now sits, was the first built in Santa Barbara after World War II in 1951. Its opening was delayed for four months while the State Street extension past Constance Avenue was completed.

By the early 1970s, Jordano's had weathered two world wars, the Depression and a number of minor recessions, and had still managed to expand with 18 stores throughout Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties, and a healthy distributing business stocking hotels and restaurants. One son from each of the original four brothers joined the family business, including Peter C. Jordano, who leads Jordano's Inc. today.

In the 1970s, Jordano's went through a dramatic transformation. Peter Jordano, watching the growth of large national grocery store chains, decided to adjust Jordano's to the changing times. Focusing on distributorships, Jordano's sold their grocery stores after over 60 years of business. It was a difficult time for Jordano's, but having gained the loyalty of their customers and employees they soon began a new period of growth. Within a few years, Jordano's diversified into a distributing conglomerate including food and beverage distributors, a kitchen supply business and an institutional foods distributor, with combined sales of over $100 million.

The secret of Jordano's survival through hard economic times has been a willingness to adapt to change and a never-ending emphasis on learning. "If you continue to expose yourself to new ways of doing business," Peter Jordano says, "it takes the fear out of change."

Some things, however, have not changed.  Peter Jordano is committed to selling value and service to local customers, and to providing for his employees and the community, just as his father and three uncles had done. Through an employee stock ownership plan, employees now own 22 percent of Jordano's, and the average length of employment is 14 years. One employee, Bill Simpson, stayed with Jordano's for 58 years.

"Jordano's is successful not because of the desire to be big," Peter Jordano says, "but because we are able to create jobs and opportunities for fellow employees."

Jordano's mission statement, which is posted in every Jordano's business and office, and which Peter Jordano carries on a card in his wallet, summarizes the Jordano's ethic:

After nearly 80 years in Santa Barbara, Jordano's continues its commitment to the same principle which launched the business in 1915. As Peter Jordano puts it: "In today's environment, value is everything."

Top:  Produce was displayed in front of the store, giving it an open-air market ambiance.