National Register #100006073
Buon Gusto Sausage Factory
535 Green Street
Built 1948
North Beach

After Buon Gusto Sausage factory opened in 1948, it expanded to a workforce of forty employees with a weekly production capability of 25,000 pounds Italian salami and salcicce. The owner, Federico Casissa, planned to be the largest producer of Italian specialty meat in the West and intended to market his products nationwide.

Prior to World War II, North Beach sausage and salami producers were small operations where meats were often made and cured in Italian grocery stores. After World War II, only producers inspected and approved by the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service were allowed to export over state lines. Of all the San Francisco purveyors, only the Buon Gusto Sausage Co. and the Cariani Sausage Co. opted for federal USDA inspections so that they could sell across state lines, while all other local producers were limited to the California market.

For thirty years, until 1978, three generations of the Casissa family manufactured specialty meats here in accordance with traditional old country Genovese ingredients and techniques.

The building, designed by Martin J. Rist, is an intact example of International/Modern architecture applied to a utilitarian building.