Golden Cannoli Shells, Inc. in Chelsea, Massachusetts has been selected as the SBA Massachusetts 2014 Small Business of the Year, according to an announcement made today by SBA District Director, Robert H. Nelson.
The selection is based on the following criteria: staying power, growth in number of employees, increase in sales and/or unit volume, current and past financial reports, innovation of product or service, response to adversity, and contribution to aid the community. Golden Cannoli was nominated for this prestigious award by Kathleen Kelly, a Vice President with First Trade Union Bank.
Golden Cannoli Shells, Inc. is a company that specializes in making hand-rolled premium cannoli shells for distribution nationwide. The company was started more than 40 years ago by cousins Francesco Bono and Angelo Bresciani, and descendants Valerie Bono, Ed Bresciani, Eric Bresciani and Maria Elena Malloy own the company today.
Golden Cannoli has received national recognition for their handmade cannoli and fillings by some of the largest distributors and customers in the United States. With this growth and development, the current owners reached out to the SBA and Kathleen Kelly at First Trade Union Bank for an SBA express loan in 2009 for the purchase of equipment upgrades. In 2013 they applied for the SBA’s 504 loan program to purchase a new 30,000 square foot manufacturing facility. Owner Maria Malloy joined the SBA’s Emerging Leaders Initiative/e200 program in Boston in 2013 to develop a growth plan for the business, and each owner now works with their own representatives at SCORE to learn, manage and restructure the business to run at maximum efficiencies.
"It is a tremendous honor for our family and our Golden Cannoli team to be recognized by the SBA. When our fathers started this company 45 years ago I don’t think they could have imagined we would be where we are today. Our recent growth and continued opportunities are a testament to the support we have received from the SBA, First Trade Union Bank, Granite State Development, MassMEP, Mass Office of Business Development, The City of Chelsea, the Chamber of Commerce, SCORE members and all of our business support staff. It is true that with hard work, dedication and a clear vision, anything is possible and we could not be more excited about the future of Golden Cannoli,” said Valerie Bono.
“We are very pleased to honor this extraordinary business as our 2014 Massachusetts Small Business of the Year,” said Director Nelson. “We celebrate the owners’ success as well as their business and personal contributions to the betterment of the community in Chelsea.” Nelson added, “We have an incredible group of winners this year and we are looking forward to honoring all of them at our awards breakfast on May 13th
