Peter Jordano, president of Jordano’s, one of the region’s oldest family-owned companies, will become the sixth member of the Pacific Coast Business Times’ Business Hall of Fame.

The Business Hall of Fame was created in honor of the Business Times’ 10th anniversary in 2010. The region’s weekly business journal is committed to inducting one new member into the Hall of Fame annually through 2015 as part of its 101 One Hundred special report on the region’s largest companies.

A biography of Jordano will appear in the April 22 edition of the Business Times, and Jordano will be honored at an awards reception at the Four Seasons Biltmore in Santa Barbara on the evening of May 16.

“Pete Jordano has both history and vision on his side, giving him a unique perspective on business in the region,” said Editor Henry Dubroff. “He’s a natural person to induct into the Hall of Fame this year.”

Founded in 1915, Jordano’s operated retail stores and supermarkets throughout Santa Barbara-based company now concentrates on the wholesale side of the
business. It operates a large food service division as well as Pacific Beverage, which distributes Anheuser Busch brands and other beverage product in Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Luis Obispo counties.

Jordano and his wife, Gerd, are major figures in fundraising and philanthropic efforts, including the highly successful Westmont College President’s Breakfast.

Jordano joins five previous inductees:

• Ventura County real estate developer and retired Zero Corp. CEO Jack Gilbert, a major donor to California Lutheran University.
His family-owned TOLD Corp. continues to operate a successful industrial-office park in Camarillo.

• Oracle Chairman and Santa Barbara resident Jeff Henley, a major donor to UC Santa Barbara and supporter of Boys & Girls Club chapters throughout the region.

• Retired Mid-State Bank & Trust Chairman and CEO Carrol Pruett, who remains an influential figure in San Luis Obispo County banking circles.

• Montecito Bank & Trust owner and real estate developer Michael Towbes, who continues to oversee operations from Ventura County to the Santa Maria Valley.

• The late Martin V. Smith, developer of the Topa Financial Plaza and Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard. His legacy includes a major gift from his family foundation that established the Martin V. Smith School of Business & Economics at CSU Channel Islands.