Talluto '95's Business Values Highlighted By The Herr's "Flavored By Philly" Contest

In 1967, Joseph Talluto, grandfather of Joe Talluto ’95, took a leap of faith and opened his own business. After a long career as a cook in the Philadelphia area, including time at the iconic Philip’s Restaurant on Broad Street, the elder Talluto, then 67 years old, quit his job, sold the family house, and purchased a ravioli machine. “He sold the house for $7,500 and paid $7,400 for the ravioli machine,” explains his grandson, Joe. Soon after, the first Talluto’s Store opened at 61st Street and Elmwood Avenue and marked the beginning of a long tradition of serving the finest Italian ingredients rooted in family, integrity, and craftsmanship. 

Joe Talluto ’95 was born and raised in Southwest Philadelphia before his family moved to Delaware County. This connection with the city helped him find his way to the Prep for high school. “I was the only one from my grade school to attend the Prep, but I had some friends from the city who had gone there,” Talluto recalls. “I’m thankful to my parents for sending me there, because the experience was the most pivotal part of my life.”

From the time he was 10 years old, Talluto could be found working at the Talluto Store on weekends. His grandparents lived above the original store so it was a natural home for him and his three sisters. Despite this, after graduating from Loyola College in Maryland, Talluto did not plan to return to the family business immediately.

“I had worked on an SAP software migration project as an intern at Black & Decker, and was planning to go work for SAP after graduation,” he recounts. “The job would have let me travel the world, see different ways businesses operate, and then bring that experience back with me.”

However, those plans changed when an immediate need at the family business arose during his interview process with SAP. “I did an about-face and decided to join the business. I quickly realized after starting there what businesses really are — they’re living and breathing; they’re never perfect and always need work. I fell in love with running a business, even though I really wasn’t running it,” Talluto says. 

In 2019, Talluto’s father passed away suddenly. “It was a bit of a snowball effect,” Talluto says. “My father passed and that prompted a few members of our team to leave; then the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 happened; then less than two years later, my dad’s business partner of 42 years passed away rather suddenly.”

Rather quickly, the whole business had changed. Talluto went from National Account Sales Manager to CEO and was now business partners with his sisters. “Family businesses can go one way or the other: they can galvanize relationships amongst the family, or destroy them,” Talluto notes. Fortunately, Talluto’s was a business that made the family stronger. “My relationship with my father changed over the years in a way that I am extremely grateful for,” says Talluto. “He became my business partner, but he also became my best friend. I learned what it meant to be a business owner from him.”

The values instilled in Talluto and his sisters allowed the business to persevere. “My parents were always very disciplined,” Talluto says. “We weren’t entitled to anything. In my dad’s eyes, the business was an opportunity. If we were going to take advantage of that opportunity, we were going to work more, work harder, and work faster; and do all of this not for ourselves, but for the business. It really came full circle with my Prep education — to be a man for others and to do things the right way, for the right reasons, regardless of personal gain.” 

As a CEO, he learned that having meaningful relationships with his employees and considering their interests while making decisions are critical to success. Talluto credits his father for giving him that example of connecting with people and developing a genuine family culture among everyone at the company. 

Talluto’s today looks a little bit different than it did back in 1967. It has expanded to three store locations throughout the greater Philadelphia area, has grown its manufacturing space to a 60,000 square foot facility, and now involves the fourth generation of the family — including Joe’s nephew Nick Storti ’22. As a prominent local fixture in authentic Italian cuisine, Talluto’s was nominated by one of its customers as part of the third annual Herr’s Chips “Flavored by Philly” Contest. The initiative highlights local businesses and the various flavors of these eateries (in this case, Talluto’s cheese ravioli with marinara sauce). Out of over 1,000 applicants, Talluto’s currently stands as one of three finalists. “We’re really proud to be recognized among these great companies,” Talluto says. “It’s a healthy competition, and while we want to win, bringing the community together around its small businesses is phenomenal — the timing couldn’t be better.”