Salume Beddu, the acclaimed St. Louis brand that Forbes once named the “best salami in the country,” is reintroducing itself to the region and beyond. As owner Mark Sanfilippo explains, the brand recently underwent a refresh that represents a return to its roots of all-natural casings, a focus on increased availability across the metro area, and collaborations with local restaurants.
According to Sanfilippo, the relaunch comes as he shifts production from his former facility in Olivette to a trusted co-packing partner that specializes in artisan salumi, something that became necessary as his business dealt with the long tail of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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“I was always very conservative about measured growth, and we were doing solidly. Then [the pandemic] hit, and that was a big challenge,” Sanfilippo says. “Our restaurant business was gone overnight, which was about 50 percent of our total sales. We survived by the internet and some increased sales at grocery stores, but it was not nearly enough. We’ve looked at this as an opportunity to restructure and pare down to get to the core of what is important, which is making the best salami that we can.”
The Salumi
From the day he launched Salume Beddu at the Tower Grove Farmers’ Market in 2007, Sanfilippo has focused on making the finest cured meats. That spirit continues with his co-packer, a fellow artisan salumi maker whom Sanfilippo connected with to help with production after shuttering the Olivette facility this February. The arrangement will allow Sanfilippo to increase production of his core offerings, including such favorites as genoa, calabrese and ‘nduja salami, guanciale, bacon coppa, and lonza.
The biggest difference, Sanfilippo says, is he will be able to return to using natural casings—something that was difficult to do at his former facility because of USDA regulations. The co-packer is able to do it, however, because he has the required specialized equipment.
“There are very few people out there doing this kind of salumi, and after talking to him, I felt very confident in being able to give him the specs of my recipes,” says Sanfilippo. “He’s really spot-on. I would never make salumi that I wouldn’t feed to my family. I taste all of it. The small stuff matters to me, and I’m pretty picky.
“We’re in a decent amount of stores, and I really want to get on more menus and go to different cities,” Sanfilippo adds. “I don’t want to take over the world, but I know there are other cities with Parker’s Tables and Wine Merchants that want something different, in addition to their own local thing.”
The Collaborations
In addition to retail offerings, Sanfilippo is exploring collaborations with some of St. Louis’ favorite restaurants, and he’s already found some willing partners, including Qui Tran of Mai Lee and Nudo House.
“We want to help support and push Salume Beddu forward, because we love the products,” Tran says. “It’s such a St. Louis staple.”
Sanfilippo and Tran are already working together at Nudo House, where Salume Beddu’s ‘nduja is a main ingredient in the spicy Nduja Bomb, a classic tonkatsu ramen infused with the fiery Southern Italian spreadable salame. Guests can also add ‘nduja to any ramen on the menu, and Tran has teased the idea of doing a sausage and peppers collaboration with Salume Beddu’s other products.
Sanfilippo is also working out details on an upcoming collaboration with Steve’s Hot Dogs for ‘nduja grilled cheese, a dish he’s made at home with great results. “The St. Louis community is very special and very different from other places,” Sanfilippo says. “The support, moral or otherwise, is something I kind of lost contact with, because I was just out at the factory breaking down 500 pounds of meat a day. I never saw anybody or talked to anybody and was just making salami into the void. Hearing the love people have for this thing I am trying to do in as good and honest a way I can means a lot and is a huge gift.”
Tran predicts that as financial pressures mount in the restaurant and retail industries, partnerships and collaborations will become increasingly common in 2026. “We’re stronger when we band together,” Tran says, noting the benefits of the cross-marketing created by such alliances.
The Backstory
Well before founding Salume Beddu in 2007, Sanfilippo was an exchange student in Germany, where he fell in love with salumi, thanks to elk bresaola from his dorm mate’s father. He took every opportunity to seek out different types of salumi during his studies abroad and carried that passion for cured meats back with him to the United States.
While living in California, he began working in the restaurant industry under the acclaimed Nancy Silverton at her restaurant, Pizzeria Mozza. During that time, he started experimenting with making his own cured meats, converting his small apartment closet into a cure room. His work so impressed Silverton and her team that he was given the chance to do charcuterie for the restaurant.
As he got deeper into salumi making, Sanfilippo could not help but notice that the source of pork for the finest salumi in the country was none other than his native Missouri. When the time came for him to get serious about striking out on his own, he decided to move back to St. Louis, where he founded Salume Beddu as a farmers market staple, then a brick-and-mortar shop before launching a full-scale production facility. Sanfilippo developed a reputation for the highest-quality salumi, garnering national acclaim, which continues today.
“My vision is still to make something that is respected by the people I respect,” Sanfilippo says. “It’s really satisfying to make something and then have people enjoy it and share it with the people they love. That’s what makes me feel proud.”
