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By Jill Nagy
Roma Foods Importing Co., an Italian specialty foods company with stores in Saratoga Springs and Latham, has a new owner and will soon have a new name, expanded menus, and enlarged facilities.
Cardona’s Market, a similar business located in Albany, bought the Roma business in June. They are building a large production kitchen at the Latham location and expanding the kitchen in Saratoga at 222 Washington St., according to Robert Cardona, one of the three brothers who own the company. In time, the Roma locations will be renamed Cardona’s, he said.
The Cardona brothers, August, Robert Jr., and Anthony, are the third generation to own the business which was founded in downtown Albany in 1945. Roma also traces its roots to Albany, where it was founded by Frank Bolognino in 1946. His four sons ran the business at the time of the sale. They plan to retire but Frank’s granddaughter, Nicole Bolognino, who manages the Latham store, is staying on through the transition.
The Saratoga store “cranks out sandwiches like crazy,” said Robert Cardona Jr.
Under the new ownership, the store will continue to feature sandwiches but will offer a greater variety, he said. Cardona’s catering menu will be introduced to the Saratoga Springs store, along with expanded take-out items, a steam table for hot food, more “grab and go” offerings, and a few cafe seats for customers who prefer to eat inside.
The new owners expect to move some equipment around and change the layout of the store for better customer flow and shorter waits, Cardona said.
Robert is in charge of production as the head chef. He will preside over the new production kitchen in Latham. In the meantime, he said he makes about 7,000 meatballs and 200 gallons of sauce in a typical week.
Cardona plans to keep all of Roma’s employees who want to stay and is looking to hire additional staff.
The combined company has 75 full-time and 10-15 part-time employees. A month ago, it was hard to find people to work, Robert said, but things are easing up now and “people want to work.”
The Saratoga store remains open. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. It is closed Sundays.