Chef Boyardee's Mansion Up For Auction

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Jun 21st 2010 at 4:01PM

It's the house that sauce built. A home known as the Chef Boyardee mansion is going up for auction. Ettore "Hector" Boiardi was an Italian immigrant who came to the U.S. at the age of 16 and later moved to Cleveland where he opened up a restaurant. His sauce became so popular that he bottled it and eventually opened up a food factory (the spelling was changed so that Americans would be able to pronounce the name correctly). His business rapidly expanded and he moved to central Pennsylvania in 1938 to be closer to the tomato growers. The Milton, Pennsylvania home up for auction on June 26, 2010 was built in 1941-42 for Boiardi and his wife, Helen. The lavish mansion represented the achievement of an American dream to the Italian chef.

The home has leaded glass windows, a curved staircase and brick fireplaces. A front portico features white pillars and a half-circle stone patio. The 2.8 acre property has an inground pool and a bath house. A report from The Daily Item says that even after Boiardi sold the mansion he could be seen in the area walking the grounds. The mansion has only had two owners, Boiardi and the current owner. It was purchased by Harvey and Rozella Follmer in 1965 and Mrs. Follmer is now downsizing.

The auction is being run by Hassinger & Courtney Auctioneers and includes some furniture owned by the Boiardis including a Spanish revival dining room set and the living room chandelier. More details are available at the Hassinger & Courtney auction site.

Gallery: The House That Boyardee Built

Tags: chef boyardee, hector boiardi, pennsylvania real estate, real estate auction

Filed under: Estates, Auctions

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

adesertking Jun 21st 2010 4:16PM

DREADFUL

mickey Jun 21st 2010 5:21PM

Funny, they just recalled like fifteen million pounds of Spaghetti-O's with meatballs. I guess its not a true American success story until the food has a disease.

al schrader Jun 21st 2010 5:49PM

Spaghetti-O's is Franco-American, not Chef Boyardee.
Hector Boiardi was a genius up there with Colonel Harland Sanders, my uncle Henry Schrader & my dad (inventors of Yoo Hoo), etc.
He was the first one to figure this out, how to put fully cooked Italian pasta dishes into a can. And most importantly resulting in a product that 90% of America still loves....Alfred-

Jim Jun 21st 2010 5:04PM

God bless him. For it's time I'm sure that it was impressive. Today it would not be considered a mansion. However, it's a nice american success story.

June Brackin Jul 27th 2010 10:35AM

does anyone know if Chef Boyardee spaghetti & meatballs in tomato sauce Canned has a recall on them

jbjg24m Jun 21st 2010 6:39PM

never liked those damn things when i was a kid !

rex Jun 21st 2010 7:09PM

Wow, looking at this photos is like getting in a time machine......Maybe it looked nice during the waning days of Watergate but it sure as hell doesn't nowadays!!! That kitchen should be donated to the Smithsonian......

Brian Jun 21st 2010 7:22PM

good luck unloading that place...it's a "knock-down". The land is nice

rodentwildlife Jun 22nd 2010 10:43PM

Thats what your Dad said about your Mom, and she's still standing.

Hattie Crabtree Jun 21st 2010 7:46PM

I still adore Spaghetti-O's.The man that invented it died last year or so.I also love the Chef Boyardee Cheese Mini -Raviloi.I read that Tom Cruise adores Yoo Hoo.

Donovan Jun 21st 2010 8:10PM

Well, all I can say is, the joint needs a bit of updating to say the least.

And as far as being called a mansion. Perhaps in its day it was considered a mansion, but not by today's home size standards.

Might make a nice B & B?

Velbradfarms Jun 21st 2010 9:01PM

Just like his sauce, no taste!

WAYNE Jun 21st 2010 9:49PM

They are the nicest people,i use to work for them over ten years ago.They paid for my 2 kids to go to college and they would pay me a salary of $89,000 per year and i only worked on weekends from 12 to 12

Bump Jun 22nd 2010 3:22PM

Were you documented?

JDavis109 Jun 23rd 2010 1:39AM

Yeah sure, and they gave you all his secret recipes too ... Boiardi died 25 years ago!

Jerry Wimberly Jun 21st 2010 10:03PM

His favorte home was on the eatern shore of Maryland on the Chester river. It is really close to the Russian government home. If you every go up the Chester you will see a security helicopters fling over their place and over you of if get too curious.

Chris Economou Jun 22nd 2010 10:01AM

You are absolutely right...I don't live far from there. To say that "mansion" on the Eastern shore is breathtaking is putting it mildly. It is for sale for a little over 14 million. A few investors and myself thought of buying it and using it as a bed and breakfast. What a place. It is now owned by a dot com millionaire.

Marra Jun 22nd 2010 1:36AM

I remember years ago when I graduated high school and my mom took me shopping downtown Cleveland. She walked me down a curving alley that seemed to lead to a dead end. But there was a door and it opened into Chef Hector's Restaurant. It belonged to Chef Boyardee. It was very nice and the food was good.

Eric Johnson Jun 22nd 2010 1:42AM

I am not trying to be a wise guy, my dog loves boiardi ravioli's.She is a picky eater,and really gets excited over them .When they are on sale they are cheaper than canned dogfood ,and I think if they are for human consuption they meet higher standards.Perhaps I spoil her ,cause she loves me

Susan Jun 22nd 2010 6:09AM

While the house might be outdated and in need of remodeling, I love what the story stands for..An immigrant that worked his ass off and made a better living for himself. Achieved what he dreamt off while on the boat to America..Came in legally, probably through Ellis Island, learned the language and customs and worked to support himself..These immigrants refused hand outs and worked to make better lives than where they came from...I know, my grandmother was one of those immigrants..

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