Coming to KC stores: Johnson County man’s 125-year-old sauce, a secret family recipe

Many families have their favorite hand-me-down recipes, perhaps written on cardstock and shoved into an old cookbook.

For 76-year-old Jack Williams, that beloved recipe is his great-grandmother Angeline Morrelli’s pasta sauce.

Not too garlic-y, not too bland, it’s always been a staple at functions. So much so that the father and grandfather from Lenexa is coming out of retirement to put the product on store shelves.

A little over a week ago, Grandma Morrelli’s Homestyle Pasta Sauce began rolling out in local grocery stores. Soon, it’ll be at all 26 of the Balls Foods Stores in the Kansas City metro, as well as several Hy-Vee locations and McKeever’s Markets.

“I thought it was time to share it with everybody,” Williams said.

Taste-wise, it’s rich and tomato-y, with a hint of sweetness. Plus, there’s a secret spice he adds to put its flavor profile over the top.

The 125-year-old recipe came from Morrelli, an Italian farm wife who immigrated to the States in the late 1800s. She lived in Cassville, Missouri, and was known as “Great Gran” to everyone, non-great-grandkids included.

Williams remembers visiting the family farm often, carrying old kerosene lamps to venture down into her basement.

Morrelli died when Williams was 11, but he wishes she was around to see the company.

“She would just be honored and flabbergasted by it,” he said. “Cousins … just go on and on about how great it is to honor her, the Italian heritage we have.”

Perhaps equally as notable as Morrelli’s sauce was her pickles. Using her recipe, Williams created Great Gran’s Pickles in 2010.

At its height, the pickles were in 45 stores in the Kansas City area. But after Williams sold it in 2015, the pickle company floundered. Williams said he still gets requests to make the pickles from friends and family members.

Like his pasta sauce label, the pickle jars were adorned with a photo of Morrelli.

“There’s tens of thousands of people in Kansas City who know my great-grandmother by her picture,” Williams said.

By the way, Williams is looking to revive the pickle company, too. Stay tuned for that news.

Ultimately, it was Williams’ desire to carry on his family’s legacy that made him want to start another venture. He has big plans: jars in every store in the United States.

“I’d like to leave a legacy for my kids and my grandkids. … My kids can carry on with it when I’m gone,” he said. “I’m a very, very sentimental person when it comes to my family.”