Corned beef keeps Levonians in the ‘green’
By: Kathryn Caggianelli, The Record 03/17/2006
Troy Record, NY
March 17 2006
TROY – In early January, the curing process begins. By St. Patrick’s
Day, more than one million pounds of beef brisket will have been
shipped to consumers throughout the Northeast.
Corned beef is a family tradition at Levonian Brothers. The third
generation family-owned business at 27 River St. has been around
since 1947. Corned beef is their specialty.
“St. Patrick’s Day is our Christmas,” President Rob Nazarian said.
Fifty to 60 percent of Levonian’s total corned beef sales for the year
are made by St. Patrick’s Day. That translates into innumerable three-
to four-pound uncooked briskets, ranging in price from $10 to $20,
depending on the grade and cut of beef. They’re sold to area Price
Chopper and Hannaford stores, local independent markets and Big Y
grocery stores throughout New England. Prepared corned beef roasts
are sold to a number of delis, Nazarian said.
“We sell an Angus beef version to Price Chopper. It’s the
highest quality you can get and will run between $15 to $20 for a
three-to-four-pound brisket,” he said.
Other products prepared by Levonian Brothers include roast beef,
pastrami, hot dogs and smoked ham. The company buys meat and poultry
for distribution from midwest manufacturers that include National Beef,
Cargill and Tyson.
In the early 1970s the company expanded its distribution services and
started producing meat products. The move was a marketing strategy
that paid off, Nazarian said.
“We did it to create our own brand. We became more than just the
middle man,” Nazarian said.
Though he wasn’t willing to disclose how profitable the business is,
or how expansion affected the profit margin, Nazarian did admit that
the business is thriving.
So why specialize in corned beef? Doing so required little in terms
of start-up costs. All that was needed was a packaging machine and
injector. The curing solution is a relatively inexpensive mixture of
water, salt and seasonings. All-beef rounds are used, he said.
Corned beef certainly wasn’t a tradition for the Armenian family before
that time. For that matter, corned beef isn’t even a true Irish dish,
Nazarian said.
“It’s a tradition here in the states. In the old days people had
meat and vegetables sitting in cure in their basements. In the spring
they’d clean out their basements and cook up everything that was left
over from the fall harvest,” he said.
The meal later somehow became associated with St. Patrick’s Day,
Nazarian said.
There are some who might not agree with his theory, however.
“According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, originally corned
beef and cabbage was a traditional dish served for Easter Sunday
dinner in rural Ireland. The beef, because there was no refrigeration
at the time, was salted or brined during the winter to preserve it.
It was then eaten after the long, meatless Lenten fast,” write chefs
Stephen Block and Stephen Holloway, authors of “The History and Irish
Tradition of Corned Beef,” for The Kitchen Project, an online resource
found at
The same article questions the validity of that claim, however,
because beef was said to be a delicacy that only the rich could afford.
Regardless of its origins, corned beef remains a top seller for
Levonian Brothers.
When brothers Elia Y. and Levon Y. Levonian, and their nephews Elia
M. and Levon M. Levonian, started the distribution business more than
five decades ago when they targeted small, independent markets in
the area. Today the company boasts a staff of 75 and a two-building
facility of approximately 60,000 square feet. Two other nephews,
Gregory L. Nazarian and Ralph Darian worked for their uncles during
college vacations and eventually went on to become managing directors
in 1957 and corporate officers in the 1970s, according to Nazarian.
After graduating from Siena College in 1990 Rob Nazarian, Gregory’s
son, came on board. He went on to become president in 1997.
Rob’s two sisters had no interest in running the business so the job
seemed like the logical path for him to follow, he said.
“We’d like to keep it in the family for years to come but I don’t
have any children yet,” Nazarian said.