Joseph A. Unanue
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Joseph A. Unanue (born March 14, 1925 in Brooklyn, New York) was the president of the family owned Goya Foods, which is the largest hispanic food company in the United States.
Unanues' father Prudencio Unanue, immigrated from Spain to Puerto Rico where he met a young Puerto Rican girl by the name of Carolina Casal. They were married in the island and soon after moved to New York and settled in Brooklyn. Joseph was the second of four children born to the Unanue's. Prudencio worked as a broker for Spanish companies doing business in the U.S.. He soon realized that there was a need for Hispanic products in the city and in 1936, he founded Goya Foods, a food distributing company, in Manhattan.
Prudencio Unanue was very serious about children's education and enrolled them in Catholic schools. Unanue attended St. Joseph's grammar school and later, St. Celias High School. Since childhood and when not in school, Unanue and his brothers had to work in the family business. His special job was bottling olives. In 1943, he graduated from high school but, since World War II was in full swing, he was drafted into the U.S. Army.
After basic training, Unanue attended the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. However, due to the intensity of the war, he was soon sent to the battlefield. In 1944, his company landed in France and soon joined General George S. Patton's 3rd Army at the Battle of the Bulge. Unanue was only 19 years old and he was a Private First Class, when his sergeant died in action. He was then named sergeant in the field and made platoon leader. Unanue pulled his men to safety and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for bravery.
In 1946, after Unanue returned home, he enrolled in The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He joined the family business, together with his brothers Tony and Frank Unanue. He learned every facet of the food industry. At first, the major supermarkets, such as A&P and Safeways weren't interested in selling anything with the Hispanic demography in mind. Eventually, with the wave of Hispanic immigrants landing in the United States, the supermarket industry started to take notice. Goya Foods started to supply Safeway's Supermarket in Harlem and the rest soon followed.
In 1976, Unanue was named president of the company whose principal base of operations was now based in New Jersey. His brother Frank, ran the "Goya de Puerto Rico, Inc." located in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. The company, under Joseph's leadership, became the largest Hispanic owned food distributor in the United States, with sales of over $800 million a year and with over 2,000 employees. It has facilities in Puerto Rico, Spain, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Italy. The company also has facilities in the United States in the cities of Chicago, Miami, Tampa and Houston.
Goya Foods supports many organizations, among them the "Puerto Rican Traveling Theater", "Repertorio Español", "Ballet Hispanico" and the "Puerto Rican Day Parade". It also supports "The New Jersey Council for the Arts", "El Museo del Barrio" and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
In 1985, Unanue's son Joseph F. Unanue, was named Vice President of Operations, a position he held until 1998 when he died suddenly. His younger son, Andy Unanue, was named to replace Joseph Jr.
Among the many distinctions which Joseph Unanue has received was being knighted in the Order of Malta. He was presented with the "Key" to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. In 1991 he was presented with the "National Hispanic Achievement Award" and was "twice" named the "Man of the Year" by the National Conference of Christians and Jews. The National Suppliers Association presented him with the "Leadership Award".
Unanue has received honorary doctorates from Mercy College, Long Island University in New York and Felician College in New Jersey. The Catholic University of America has named one of its campus houses, The Joseph Unanue House.
In February 2004, after 27 years as president of Goya Foods, 78 year old Joseph Unanue, and his son Andy were ousted from the company by his two nephews. Joseph Unanue resides in New Jersey with his wife and continues to paricipate in civic and cultural activities.
