Lioni Latticini Inc. was founded in 1980 on 15th Avenue in Brooklyn and expanded to a full production facility in New Jersey in 1997. They are recognized as an award-winning, nationally distributed producer of the finest whole milk mozzarella products in the United States. Despite the impressive growth, Lioni Latticini has remained a family business, and evidence of this ethos remains alive in the memory of one of the co-founders, Salvatore Salzarulo.
Born in Lioni in 1949, Salvatore grew up working as a bread maker in his father’s bakery. He served with distinction in the Italian military and later met the love of his life, Michelina. They married in 1974 and soon began their own family. Teresa was born in 1975. Life was good. And then, in 1980, the Irpinia earthquake devastated much of Campania, and Salvatore and Michelina’s second daughter, Giovanna, was born with Cooley’s Anemia. The latter reality, most of all, brought the young Italian family to America where better medical access was available.
They settled among family in Brooklyn. Ever diligent, Salvatore worked nights at a local bakery, learning the trade and business of the American baker until he partnered with his Uncle Sal, along with Michelina, to open the Lioni Latticini storefront on 15th Avenue. Salvatore and Michelina added another Salzarulo to the family, Giovanni, born in 1985.
After significant growth, Lioni Latticini kept the storefront in Brooklyn but relocated most of the operation in 1997 to a much larger production facility in Union, NJ.
Preternaturally curious, a man of science with a love of history and current events, Salvatore perfected, over the course of many years, the production process necessary to replicate the art of Italian cheese making in America. This was realized through dedicated research and development, careful conversations with Italian cheese masters, and the patience of a perfectionist.
Notable accomplishments of Salvatore continued into his fourth decade as a cheese maker and include the pandemic-era idea to have buffalo milk from Italy condensed and frozen, then flown into the States to allow for fresh Bufala Mozzarella to be made in-house, and the company’s first foray into semi-soft cheese with a Caciocavallo di Salvatore, named in tribute to Lioni Latticini’s co-founder, after his passing in 2024 on this day, January 23rd.
The legacy of Salvatore Salzarulo remains alive not only in the exceptional cheeses Lioni continues to produce but, most importantly, in his absolute commitment to making his business a family one, not just for those who share his name but for all with whom he came into contact.
“Whatever my father devoted himself to, he did with full heart and mind from morning till night,” says his daughter Teresa Salzarulo Conforte, Director of Management of Lioni. “He had a great relationship with his family, of course, but just as great a relationship with his employees. He was alongside them every shift and every day. They all loved and respected him because Lioni was his passion, his life, and his other family.”
In the summer of 2025, Giovanni, who handles Sales & Customer Relations at Lioni, celebrated his wedding in Campania in tribute to his father.
