generations Traverso
Vittorio Traverso and Luisa Bacigalupi migrated separately from Italy in the late 1800s. They met while living in the same Telegraph Hill neighborhood, married, and with their three sons built the first member-only wholesale grocery in San Francisco supporting nearly 400 small Bay Area grocers. They started out owning and operating the Telegraph Hill Hotel—a saloon, boarding house, and retail grocery.
PARENTS
Vittorio Traverso, 1866-1933 - Born in Pentema in the municipality of Torrigilia in the province of Genova, Italy, Vittorio lived his first 22 years with his farming family raising goats and tending a vineyard. He migrated by himself to America in 1888 arriving in San Francisco. According to a local directory, he was living at Gerke Alley on Telegraph Hill.
Luisa Bacigalulpi, 1867-1937 - Luisa was born in Carasco, Liguria, Italy. She immigrated in 1890 by herself from Italy to live with a brother on Gerke Alley in San Francisco. We assume that is when she met Vittorio.
They were married in 1894 and gave birth to their first son in 1895. In order to make more money, the family moved to Lake County to work at the Great Western Quicksilver Mine in Middletown where Vittorio made $3 a day and Luisa sold vegetables grown in a small garden. Second son, Victor, was born there in 1898.
SONS
William Frank Traverso, 1895-1975 - Bill was an assistant reporter of the decisions of the Supreme Court and District Court of Appeals for more than twenty years; appointed by Governor Warren as Judge of the Municipal Court in 1943 as the first Italian appointed to the municipal court and Governor Warren's very first appointment. Later, Governor Warren would become the 14th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of America.
In 1945, he was elevated to Superior Court and appointed Presiding Judge of the Superior Court in 1950. He retired in 1965.
Victor Peter Traverso, 1898-1958 - Vic's father Vittorio had converted the original grocery into a saloon during the rebuilding in 1906 and 1907. Vic and Jack worked in the saloon after school and on weekends as they were growing up. By December 1922, they were doing $3,000 per month ($3,000.00 in 1922 had the same buying power as $41,866.82 does in 2017) at the new location at 506 Washington Street. The location was between Hotaling Place and Sansome Street. Today, that building is gone. There for two years, they moved again in order to expand to 443 Washington Street.
John Andrew Traverso, 1902-1989 - As did his brothers, Jack attended Lowell High School. While still in high school, Jack continued to help with the family business by keeping up the books. Slowly, bookkeeping wasn't the only help Jack provided. When Vic took over the grocery, Jack found himself more involved in the business; and although attending law school following high school, Jack decided to come into the business full time at the encouragement of Vic. He gave up his dream of becoming an attorney, like is big brother Bill.
the business
In 1901, Vittorio and Luisa with their two small boys returned to San Francisco with enough money to purchase 491 Greenwich Avenue on Telegraph Hill. The building included a boarding house, saloon, and small grocery Store. The building was completly destroyed in the quake and fire of 1906. Vittorio rebuilt.
By 1922, the grocery had grown out of the space at Greenwich. Vittorio and the boys decided to move to a larger location at 506 Washington Street. There for only 2 years, they expanded again to the 441 Washington Street location. While there, the business partners decided to move from a retail grocery business to a wholesale grocery business. They developed a membership concept, new at the time, which gave small groceries the opportunity to buy at lower prices as the competion with Safeway increased. The company moved to 170-198 Pacific Avenue and built the membership base to 200+ Rainbow Stores. The business was forced to vacate in 1944 by the U. S. Military which needed the space to house supplies being brought into San Francisco through the nearby piers.
In just a month and a half the partners located a warehouse at 1050 Battery Street and bought the building which included a railroad spur ideal for the moving of products. Although the business ended in 1964, the Traverso Family continues to own the building as it manages a ground lease with a large real estate company.
the whole story
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