Frankie Wilson is cooking up sauces in honor of his family’s recipes for your family’s table.
written by JULIE PERINE
photo courtesy of FRANKIE WILSON
A HOSPITAL RECRUITER BY DAY, FAIRMONT’S FRANKIE WILSON has discovered a robust side hustle. Available at markets across north central West Virginia and beyond, Uncle Frankie’s Homemade Italian Sauce is a blend of quality products and family heritage.
“I grew up in a family full of Italians and take great pride in my family descent,” Wilson says. “Both of my grandmothers were good Italian cooks.” His paternal grandmother, Rita Priscillo, certainly knew her way around the kitchen, and his maternal grandmother, Velma Rizzo, brought her culinary talent straight from Italy when she was only 16 years old. Wilson has plenty of memories of his grandparents rolling meatballs and crafting sauce. “The Rizzos canned and jarred everything,” he says. “They never in their entire lives bought sauce from the store.”
Wilson’s family members and their Italian sauces were his inspiration, but he has tweaked recipes to make them his own. “I have a sister and two cousins, so I didn’t want to use a family recipe,” he says. “I branched off a little differently, still valuing that high quality by using only the best ingredients.”
Fresh, top-notch ingredients result in top-shelf products. The pasta sauce is available in Tomato Basil and Spicy Alla Vodka flavors. Wilson also sells hot and sweet peppers in sauce as well as Roasted Pineapple Salsa. The sauces are available at locations throughout the state, such as Capitol Market in Charleston, Market on Main and Mountain State Pack & Ship in Bridgeport, and Rollins Market in Clarksburg, as well as at some farmers markets and Price Cutter locations.
As successful as it is, the product line is quite new. Just a couple of years ago, Wilson began experimenting with ingredients. Once satisfied with the taste, he got the ball rolling. “It was November of 2022 when I started the outreach, and by December, a lot of people in the area were advertising for me. By Christmas, we bottled up a couple hundred jars of sauce for Christmas gifts,” he says. “By the new year, I knew this thing was going to take off, so I continued to market it and grow the business.” Wilson used his marketing background, began working with a third party on the digital creation of a logo, and followed protocol to get his product on the store shelves. “I had the official FDA label on jars by 2023, and it all took off a lot quicker than I anticipated.”
It had become necessary to find a manufacturing plant where he could produce sauce in bulk. “Instead of making a couple gallons over the stove at night, I could make anywhere from 100 to 300 gallons at a time and produce a lot more jars,” Wilson says. “I do a minimal amount, making sure the flavor stays fresh. It’s quality over quantity, so that’s what I’m going to live by.”
The price point is a little higher than he would like, but Wilson is working to remedy that. He’s also working to get his sauces into more stores and has a fifth potential product—a pizza sauce—on the back burner.
Wilson lives with his English bulldog, Boomer. When he’s not at work at United Hospital Center, he is working to grow his brand. At the time of writing, he looked forward to becoming an uncle to a little boy—named Rizzo in honor of the family’s Italian roots.
unclefrankiessauce.com, “Uncle Frankie’s” on FB
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