About Us – Raddell's Sausage

About Us

ABOUT RADDELL’S


Raddell’s Sausage Shop in Cleveland’s historic Collinwood neighborhood has been serving customers since 1927. Currently operated by the Raddell family’s fourth generation, the shop hangs and smokes 1,000 pounds of authentic Slovenian sausages a week.


Using a traditional Slovenian recipe and a 40‐year‐old industrial grinder capable of processing 200 pounds of meat at a time, lean pork shoulder combined with salt, pepper, and garlic is coarsely ground to form old‐style links. The sausage then spends another four to six hours in the smokehouse before reaching the refrigerated display case. This dedication to quality ingredients and Time‐honored preparation is the hallmark of Raddell’s and the reason customers are so
enamored with their products.


While Slovenian sausage is their specialty, Raddell’s also hand‐prepares Hungarian, Polish, and Andouille sausages and a variety of soups. Their popular made‐to‐order counter is open at lunchtime and features sausage or cold cut sandwiches, meatball subs, and gyros.


Partnerships with Wojtilla's Bakery for potica, Lydia’s for strudel, and Sophie’s for natural perogies ensure customers always have a plethora of sweet and savory options.

THE BEGINNING: TWO GENERATIONS BUILD RADDELL’S


Beginning in the late 1800’s, more than 12 million Europeans immigrated to the United States. Cleveland soon became a popular destination for Slovenian immigrants, with communities forming in Newburgh and along St. Clair Avenue from East 30th to East 79th Streets. By the early 1900’s, another sizable Slovenian community emerged in Cleveland’s Collinwood area. To this day, the
Cleveland metropolitan area has the largest Slovene population in the United States and across the world, outside of Slovenia.


Born in Slovenia, Ludwig Raddell immigrated to the United States with his parents in the early 1900s. He mined lead in Colorado before joining the United States Marines in 1912. He served during World War I, where he advanced to Sergeant with the 11th Regiment. When his service ended in 1919, Ludwig set his sights on Cleveland because he heard about and was eager to join its vibrant Slovenian community.

After selling in Cleveland’s Collinwood neighborhood with traditional family recipes in hand, Ludwig opened his first “mom and pop” grocery store in 1927. This original location was on Waterloo Road, about a mile from the current Raddell’s Sausage Shop. Ludwig ran the store as a family business, with his children helping and contributing to its success.
Ludwig’s youngest son William Raddell Sr. had honed his skills at the Waterloo store and was keenly interested in utilizing the family’s sausage recipes for a new venture. He joined Ludwig’s former employee Edward Strumble and established Strumble & Raddell Meat Market on Grovewood Avenue. The market was a traditional butcher shop that featured fresh cuts of meat and sausage made with Raddell’s recipes.

Strumble retired after years working together, and a new partner enthusiastically joined William to form Tisovic &Raddell. Several years later, the meat market and
partnership transitioned to Raddell & Moser.

A NEW LOCATION AND THE THIRD GENERATION


The Grovewood meat market was doing well by 1979, and William’s son Thomas Raddell was keen to expand operations. With his father continuing to run the Grovewood shop, Thomas set out to identify an additional location. He found and purchased a building on the corner of Waterloo Road and East 152nd Street. This second shop was open within weeks, expanding leadership of the family business to include three generations of Raddells.


In 1981, William decided to join his son Thomas and consolidate the business to its prospering East 152nd Street location. William continued to work side‐by‐side with Thomas for 10 years before retiring in 1991.


Thomas and his wife Jean had seven children, all of whom worked at the shop over the years. At just 10 years old, Jacob Raddell started coming to the shop after school and on weekends to sweep and wash dishes. Over the years, Jacob continued to help part time until he joined the business full time in 2009.

THE FOURTH GENERATION AT THE HELM


In 2010, Thomas’ children and the Raddell family’s fourth generation—Jacob, Zachary, Christian, and Timothy—stepped in to run the business and continue the family’s legacy. With a staff of 10 employees and Jacob serving as CEO, the “brothers” team has taken the business to new, impressive levels.
Under the fourth generation of Raddell leadership:

  •  A distributor partnership formed in 2016 has expanded sausage sales to Heinen’s grocery chain and SweetBerry Fresh Market, as well as smaller grocers in the Cleveland area.
  •  Online ordering and ship‐to‐door service that began in the early 2000’s has grown to 4,000 repeat customers around the globe.
  •  Products have been expanded to include their own line of 50 spices.
  •  Strategic relationships were built with Wojtila's Bakery for potica, Lydia’s for strudel, and Sophie’s for natural perogies.

Just as their ancestors did before them, the fourth generation “brothers” team at Raddell’s strongly believes in giving back to the greater Cleveland community through event sponsorships and product
donations, including:

  •  Serving as 2023 sponsor for the Slovene Home’s Skilled Care Carnival.
  • Sponsoring the Robert & William International Family Festival from 2010‐2023.
  •  A longstanding partnership with the St. Vitus Slovenian School to provide donations for their annual Reverse Raffle.


ONGOING REPUTATIONAL SUCCESS


For many decades and across four generations, Raddell’s continues to be the anchor business in a neighborhood with strong Slovenian roots and history.
In fact, the intersection of Waterloo Road and East 152nd Street—where Raddell’s is located—was named Frankie Yankovic Square in 2007 to honor the renowned Slovenian musician known as “America’s Polka King” who grew up in the Collinwood area and would often shop at Raddell’s.


Raddell’s reputation for excellent, authentic sausage is so legendary among Clevelanders that the business routinely wins awards and receives accolades, including:

  •  Eight‐time “People’s Choice” winner at the National Polka Hall of Fame’s Sausage Festival (2006, 2007, 2008, 2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2023).
  •  In 2023, Food & Wine Magazine named Raddell’s as one of the best independent butcher shops and meat markets in America.
  •  The News‐Herald featured Raddell’s as the People’s Choice winner in its article about the2023 Polka Hall of Fame Sausage Fest.
  •  Columbus Underground online news publication featured Raddell’s in its 2022 article about Slovenian sausage.
  •  Cleveland’s 19 News featured Raddell’s in an article and news coverage about staying six feet—or 12 Slovenian sausages—away from each other during the pandemic.
  •  Cleveland Magazine featured Raddell’s in its 2016 Food Lovers Guide.
  •  In a 2015 interview, renowned chef and award‐winning cookbook author Michael Symon praised Raddell’s as one of his favorite places.