About Us.
The Al Cohen's Difference
Our fresh products are well loved in various grocery locations in the Western New York area, and beyond.
- Over 130 years of bakery industry experience and longevity
- Scratch-like quality products without all the scratch-made labor
- Authentic, olde world formulas and small batch production
- Premium quality, globally sourced ingredients
- Satisfaction guaranteed
Al Cohen's Capabilities
- Retail and food service product offerings
- Wide range of sizes, formats and packaging options
- In-house R&D lab with rapid customization capabilities
- Branded, private brand and co-pack product solutions
- Short and long-run production capabilities
- Blast freezing process to maximize quality and shelf life
Al Cohen's History
Meet Our Team
Chris Covelli
Managing Partner
Chris Covelli is a food industry entrepreneur with over 6 years of experience. Chris founded a quick service food franchise called Get Fried Fry Café in Buffalo, NY in 2014. After establishing two wholly owned stores, he grew the concept to over 14 system-wide units in less than two and a half years. Chris was instrumental in overseeing the company’s quality control, operations, supply chain and business development functions.
After executing a majority acquisition of Get Fried in August 2019, he acquired Al Cohens with partners Robert Drago and Richard Gioa. Chris is the Managing Partner of Al Cohens and is responsible for all day to day operations of the business.
In addition to his role as Managing Partner of Al Cohens, Chris is active in the community in a number of organizations including Big Brother Big Sisters of WNY, Roswell Park Cancer Institute and a mentor in the Nichols School Entrepreneurship class.
He holds a B.S. in Business Management from Florida Gulf Coast University where he received a scholarship to play Division 1 golf.
Robert Drago
Partner/Board Chairman
Robert (Rob) Drago is a third-generation food industry executive, board advisor and community leader with over 30 years of food and CPG-related leadership and consulting experience.
A bakery industry veteran, he previously served as chief executive officer of Costanzo’s Bakery, Inc. in Buffalo, NY. Prior to Costanzo’s he was president of Bakewise Brands, LLC, a PE-backed bakery holding company with facilities in three states where he was recruited in a national search after advancing through a variety of senior-level operating and consulting roles with companies including Goya Foods, Rich Products Corporation and eDiets.com.
In addition to his role as partner/board chairman of Al Cohen’s he is president of Canalside Advisors, LLC, a Rochester, NY-based advisory firm he founded in 2015, which focuses on business acquisition, sell-side advisory and interim c-level consulting projects focused primarily within the CPG industry. He also serves on the boards of Special Touch Bakery (board chairman), RealEats USA (advisory board chairman) and Holy Childhood School (director).
He holds a B.S. in Finance from Babson College and an M.B.A. from the University of Buffalo.
Jeffrey Blando
Operations Manager
Jeffrey (Jeff) Blando is a second-generation food industry operator. Jeff’s father, John Blando was one of the previous owners of Al Cohens, which allowed Jeff the opportunity to learn the business from a very young age.
After graduating from the Rochester Institute of Technology, Jeff returned to Al Cohens in an operations role in 2012. After several years in various roles at Al Cohens, he was promoted to Operations Manager.
Jeff is responsible for key day to day responsibilities at the bakery including staffing, production schedules, inventory management, mechanical preventative maintenance oversight, and many other important tasks.
He holds a B.S. in Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology
Mark DiDomenico
Senior Consultant
Mark DiDomenico is a 40+ year food industry veteran. After several years as a muffin and bread truck route driver, Mark and partner John Blando acquired Al Cohens Bakery in 1993 from Henry Cohen of the Cohens family.
After learning the business post-acquisition, Mark successfully grew Al Cohens business over the next 25 years. He served as President at Al Cohens for 15 years and will remain in a similar role as a senior consultant in the business.