The STOUFFER'S® brand name of Nestlé Prepared Foods has been
synonymous with quality since the 1920s, when the Stouffer family
first entered the food business. Their story began in 1922 when
Abraham and Mahala Stouffer opened a small coffee shop in
Cleveland, Ohio, featuring wholesome buttermilk, fresh-brewed
coffee, three types of sandwiches and Mrs. Stouffer's own deep-dish
Dutch apple pie. The modest enterprise was an immediate success,
prompting the couple's sons, Vernon and Gordon, to join the
business and develop what became a national chain of
restaurants.
A New Course: Frozen Foods
When the Stouffers opened their first suburban restaurant in the
Shaker Square area of Cleveland, customers living nearby began
requesting menu items to take home. The demand became so great that
Vernon Stouffer started freezing popular items and selling them at
an adjacent retail outlet, called the 227 Club. Suddenly, the
Stouffer family was in the frozen food business, which ultimately
led to the founding of what was then known as Stouffer Foods
Corporation in 1954.
STOUFFER'S® premium-quality frozen entrees suited America's
changing lifestyles well. More and more women were working outside
the home, and the increasing number of one- and two-member
households created a great need for appetizing convenience foods.
Frozen entrees and side dishes based on recipes for favorite menu
items, many going back to Mrs. Stouffer's original file and
perfected in Stouffer's restaurants, were joined by new products
reflecting taste trends.
The Stouffer family vision of providing home style cooking with
a "clean, fresh taste" continues to thrive today. Living up to Mrs.
Stouffer's high quality expectations, STOUFFER'S® entrees continue
to be the choice for millions each year. With STOUFFER'S® Macaroni
and Cheese, whose heritage recipe is rooted in Abraham Stouffer's
dairy expertise, or the many great STOUFFER'S® recipes which found
their way on to Stouffer's restaurant menus, STOUFFER'S® continues
to bring families together around a table of delicious food.