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Better known as the smiling Chef Boy-ar-dee on canned spaghetti labels, Hector Boiardi began his multi-million-dollar business in Cleveland.

Born in Italy in 1897, Boiardi came to New York around 1914 to work at the Ritz Carlton. A few years later he moved to Cleveland to become the Hotel Winton's chef. His famous spaghetti dinners were known throughout the Midwest.

In 1924 he and his wife, Helen, opened their first restaurant, the Giardino d'Italia. Located at East 9th Street and Woodland, the restaurant opened a special kitchen on the second floor to fill takeout requests. The orders became too much for the space to handle, so in 1928 Boiardi moved the business to a factory with assembly-line production.

The venture was so successful that it thrived in the Depression while many other businesses had to close. The original dinner for four included spaghetti sauce, uncooked spaghetti and some Parmesan cheese for 60 cents. The chef's business got a boost during World War II when the government asked him to prepare food for the military.

When the war ended, American Home Prods. Corp. bought Boiardi's company for $6 million. The Italian-born chef continued to be active locally, acquiring several Cleveland restaurants. When he died in 1985, Chef Boy-ar-dee products brought in $500 million a year.