Rome’s history begins in 1959 in the old Hilltop Market in Denver, where Jerry Rome learned the time-honored craft of artisan sausage making. Jerry apprenticed under the tutelage of Pete Vetesk and his father, August Rome. Jerry then went on to work at several Denver meat producers, where he continued to perfect his craft.
After nearly thirty years of experience in the sausage arts, Jerry opened Rome’s Sausage in 1987. Paying homage to his mentors, Rome’s Sausage would specialize in hand-made, artisan and high quality sausages using premium cuts of pork and hand ground spices.
The Rome Family and Johnson Families came together in 1949, when Bernita Rome married William Johnson.
William was back home from an extended deployment in the Pacific where he saw action with the 1st Marines. They settled in Denver and promptly opened Holly Market, a local butcher shop in the Park Hill neighborhood. Sonny Liston would stop by for custom cut 5” thick monster T-Bone steaks during his time in Denver.
Chris Johnson and family would buy Rome’s sausage in 2014, carrying forward the legacies (and awesome sausage) of both the Rome and Johnson families. Chris has spent his entire working life in a variety of roles in restaurant operations and Foodservice sales. Today, Rome’s produces the same high quality products using Jerry’s perfected recipes and techniques. We continue to honor the legacy of our company’s origins by producing artisan and natural products in the great state of Colorado.
• Honoring the legacy of our founder by making exceptional product and treating people well • Treating our customers and purveyors like family • Sourcing clean ingredients and maintaining a natural, artisan portfolio of product • Utilizing USDA inspected facilities and strict sanitation guidelines to produce our sausages • Partnering with customers to create custom product, with short turn around time • Utilizing locally sourced and produced ingredients wherever possible • Supporting the burgeoning Colorado food scene • Maintaining high quality standards by using a single cut of pork for our products • Innovation in both product and processes • Supporting local charities-Hands and Voices and St. Baldrick's as well as Douglas County Schools • Offering exceptional product at a fair price • Working to help our customers succeed • Supporting the Colorado Chefs Association, a chapter of the American Culinary Federation
