At RMH Foods, we are guided by our passion and our promises; these principles were instilled from our very beginning. When our founder, Jesse Rocke, built his first smokehouse in 1937, he ultimately built more than a smokehouse. He built a life-long passion within the Rocke family to produce high quality foods, including value-added meats, entrees and appetizers. Through three generations, that passion has fueled the engine of RMH Foods and lead the company to where it is today.
Company Milestones:
1937 - Rocke's Cold Storage was founded by J.S. Rocke as a customer butcher shop in Central Illinois. Grandpa Jesse builds the original firebrick oven smokehouse.
1942 - During the war years, Rocke's expanded the retail side of the business and began selling premium smoked meats for holiday gifts.
1956 - A tragic fire nearly destroys the company. Through tremendous community effort, operations are resumed within two weeks.
1960 - Under the leadership of new company President, Wayne Rocke, Rocke's establishes its reputation as selling only premium Angus beef. An expansion of the retail facility led to a new 7,000 square foot full-line supermarket.
1971 - Wayne, and his wife Opal Rocke, create a one-of-its-kind retail meat store in the Midwest naming it Rocke's Meating Haus. The new concept was years ahead of its time featuring two meat departments, a fresh seafood department, hot meals to go, and specialty cheeses and wines.
1976 - Rocke's wins National Ham Show Grand Champion.
1979 - Rocke's wins National Bacon Show Grand Champion.
1986 - Rocke's mail order division is launched as custom slaughtering is discontinued.
1990 - Rocke's becomes a Federally Inspected facility and begins to focus on manufacturing its specialty products for other mail order and food service companies.
1997 - Under the third generation leadership of Jonathan Rocke, Rocke's, now known nationally as RMH Foods, has two of their Quick-N-Easy Certified Angus Beef entrees named as Top Five Finalist in the National Cattlemen's Beef Association's Best New Beef Product in America contest.
2000 - RMH Foods is awarded Grand Champion and Best new Retail Beef Product 2000 for its Quick-N-Easy® Top Sirloins in Bourbon Sauce. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association sponsored the contest to recognize great-tasting retail and food service beef products that most effectively met changing consumer and foodservice operator needs.
2001 - Smithfield Foods acquires majority interest in RMH Foods.
2008 - Launch of Milano's Italian Grille... a Bistro-Inspired line of fully cooked fresh entrees.
2009 - The Rocke Family and a group of investors reacquire RMH Foods from Smithfield.