Bernadette Tarantino likes hot Italian. Her sister Tina prefers sweet Italian. Not just monikers, but actually their favorite sausage.
Pete F. Tarantino served as a GI stationed in England during World War II. He fell in love with a young British woman Lillian Rose Bristow nicknamed Nona. He wanted to marry her but the US government was opposed and Pete was transferred out of London where he saw duty in France and Belgium until the end of the war.
He quickly returned to London reuniting with Nona and the two married. Pete returned to San Diego in 1946 with his new bride. She was one of the first war brides to arrive in America.
To Nona, it must have seemed like literally traveling to the end of the world, first by boat and then by train to their final last stop in San Diego. Initially, Nona experienced difficulty assimilating to her newfound environment. With her strong Cockney accent although she spoke English, people didn’t understand her. Family member Aunt Tillie Cresci took Nona under her wing and helped her acclimate and Italianized her.
Pete and Nona settled down and Bernadette, the first of four children, was born in Little Italy. After the construction of the I-5 freeway which cut through the neighborhood, the family relocated as did many families and moved to a new development in East San Diego in 1955 where the house still remains with the family today.
In 1960, Pete founded Tarantino Gourmet Sausage in San Diego a family owned and operated business now spanning three generations over fifty years. All of his children Pete Jr., Tina, Mark and Bernadette work for the family business including grandchildren. The family works well together in harmony.
Bernadette feels blessed to have been close to her father and has never met anyone quite like him who was an important role model to her. She attributes the success of the business to her dad who loved people and was well liked by the community known around town as “Saint Peter”.
Bernadette who loves to travel went to Palermo and stayed for three months with her blood relatives after graduating school. In 1973, she spent eight months traveling throughout Europe.
Due to the nature of the meat industry, women typically didn’t work in the business. When the industry started to change, she joined her father’s business in 1984 and successfully developed the deli business in wholesale sales.
Costco is their biggest customer. Their products can also be found at Whole Foods Market, Albertson’s, Petco Park home of the San Diego Padres, and Grocery Outlet.
In 2004, Bernadette started helping Mario Cefalu with the Sicilian Festival held annually in May. It is the oldest festival in Little Italy and the largest in the country. In 2005, she became the main organizer and maintains this position to this day.
Bernadette is extremely generous and supports many local organizations. She is a member of House of Italy, Convivio, San Diego Italian Film Festival, Sons of Italy, Unico and the Irish Congress of Southern California. Mamma mia, now that’s one hot Italian.
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