OUR roots

Old Factory image of Bell-View Foods in Black and white. — Old Factory

Bell-view: A History

As a fourth-generation, family-owned company, Bell-View Brand Foods began with a humble story finding its home in the North Side neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1930.

Founded by Robert Lee, Edward Thompson, and Hugh Fawcett, Bell-View Brand Foods became a staple in households across the region. In the early years, salespeople went to markets, corner stores, and even mom & popshops alike selling products by the unit, half-case, full case, or even by the full barrel. They did so riding streetcars to get to their destination.

Like many other businesses in the 30’s and 40’s, Bell-View was no stranger to the impact of the Great Depression or World War II. Supporting our country, Bell-View produced many products for the United States government in an effort to keep the troops fed. In fact, the original owners were veterans who served with pride and honor. Following the tough times that struck our world, Bell-View survived and continued to flourish.

Bell-View was officially incorporated in 1948 under the name Lee-Thompson Fawcett Company. To further expand the business, Bell-View made a geographic move from the North Side of Pittsburgh to the site of an old lumberyard in its new home of Penn, Pennsylvania. Penn, Pennsylvania, a small borough in the adjacent Westmoreland County, was surely a grand leap from the North Side of Pittsburgh. Penn has been the home of Bell-View headquarters for over seventy years. Replacing the old lumberyard, three facilities were built to produce pickles, peppers, olives, jams, jellies, marmalades, preserves, syrups, maraschino cherries, and mustards on site.

Edward Thompson and Robert (RP) Fawcett.

Building a legacy of high quality foods, the Fawcett family has worked tirelessly to create unique items for the food industry with elderberry jelly being one example. Bell-View was one of the first companies in the United States to commercially produce elderberry jelly. As a piece of Pittsburgh in a jar, we often receive notes in the mail from customers who live in the greater Pittsburgh area picking fresh elderberries for their grandma’s special elderberry jelly recipe. In addition to elderberry jelly, Bell-View was also one of the first companies to commercially produce fresh pack peppers.

We at Bell-View pride ourselves on creating unique products for you to enjoy and share with your family. Our ancestors’inventive spirit still carries on today as we create new products to add to our brand’s collection. Working for you, our family seeks out fresh and innovative ways to meet our customers’desires.

Recognizing the wisdom from over 90 years of serving you, we continue to be active learners in our industry as we find creative ways to reinvent the Bell-View brand. The possibilities of our future growth are extensive and exciting. We promise to provide you with unparalled, high quality products and will continue to offer impeccable service as we have for the past 90 years.

Past Company President, William Fawcett Sr. He is standing next to a banner of our old slogan "Perfection in a jar." — Past Company President, William Fawcett Sr.

Most importantly, we thank you, our customers. We owe it all to the customers who have become like family. When you buy from a local, fourth generation, family-owned and operated business, your money goes back into the community that you care about and supports your neighbors’ daily lives. We do not take your support lightly, and we thank our long-time, loyal customers, ‘our family members.’

We hope to greet new family members for another 90 years and beyond.

From our family to yours, thank you!