“We were looking for something at our ag marketing club that could provide economic development in Hope,” Clark Lemley, secretary of the club told me. “We did a $40,000 feasibility study of buying the La Rinascente Pasta Company in S. Hackensack, NJ, a family owned business focused upon ethnic pasta for the Caribbean. The business had been started by John Natali’s father and his son didn’t want to continue the business due to the increasing costs of operating in NJ.”
The group raised $650,000 from 50 investors, primarily in Hope, ND (population 303), an amazing amount for such a small town. They raised another $2.4 million from banks, the USDA and other sources.
Production started in January, 2004 initially focused solely upon the company’s traditional market but with plans to contract produce specialized manichati, flat lasagna, shells and other niche pastas. “We’re looking for products with a high screw around factor,” CEO Claude Smith told me of how they were going to stay away from being a commodity producer.
The company is doing $3 million in sales and has 16 full time employees who earn an average of $14/hour. It is a tremendous boost for Hope.
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