1932 - 2019
BUSINESS OWNER, MOVER
WRITTEN BY SALLY CARDINALE
The Cardinale Family has been moving families for more than fifty years!
Even though he married the daughter of a fisherman, Salvatore Peter Cardinale, knew the fishing life was not in the “cards” for him. He was the son of an established local businessman, and in 1972, Sal and his wife Angelina (Incaviglia) Cardinale bought the moving & storage company Sal had been managing for the past ten years.
Sal at Cardinal Moving & Storage in Seaside
As a play on their name, Cardinale, the new business was named Cardinal Moving & Storage. Their young daughter, Roseann, is credited with the original motto “Moving is for the birds, so why not let us do it?” A big red bird adorned their trucks, their letterhead, and all the uniforms of the softball teams they sponsored over the years.
About a year after buying the company, they became the first moving company in Monterey County to decertify from the Teamsters Union. Sal, Angie, and two of their children, Vince and Roseann, had to cross picket lines just to keep the company operating. This went on for almost a month with the family and some family friends having to perform all the moving services, including pickups and deliveries! When the vote was taken by the employees it ended up a tie which meant a loss for the union. After they decertified all the other moving companies in the area followed suit.
Leaving the Teamsters Union would not be their only life-changing experience. Memorial weekend of 1987 brought the Pebble Beach fire. The Cardinales had lived in Pebble Beach since 1964, but in a matter of a few hours they lost their family home. The way they found out that their home had burned down to the ground was by seeing it on the news; all that remained was a statue of St. Francis of Assisi on their front brick porch and their fireplace. Surely the 90s had to be better …
Well, progress came a calling in the 90s with the redevelopment of the Seaside Auto Center and the movers had to move themselves from Seaside to their Sand City locations. The business had its
Front Page of the Sunday Monterey Herald 1987 start on Del Monte Blvd. in Seaside, not too far
Sal and Vince Cardinale sifting through the ashes from that Sal grew up in in Monterey. The Lexus
of their Pebble Beach home. dealership now stands in their original location.
However, that Sand City stay was also short lived, because in 1998, the company was forced to leave Sand City as Circuit City was now moving into their location. Once again, the moving company found themselves having to move. They wanted to stay in the same vicinity, but there really wasn’t room for a company like theirs. They finally came across property in the Industrial Park in Castroville.
This last move offered a unique opportunity for a name change. It only seemed fitting to add an “e” and celebrate their family name. They became Cardinale Moving & Storage when they moved to Castroville. Although having always been family owned and operated, this name change helped to cement the legacy Sal had wanted to build for his family. He took a small Seaside company and turned it into one of the most notable moving companies on the Monterey Peninsula.
Breaking Ground at Castroville Location
Left to Right: Sally, Vince, Roseann, Angie, Sal and building reps
Family Photo from Company Brochure touting
“Our Family Moves Families Back L - R: AnnaMarie,
Vince, Sally, & Roseann. Seated: Sal and Angie
Even though Sal & Angie were busy growing the family business, they never let it get in the way of family. Thursdays and Sundays were always pasta nights; and they spent their Sundays at Angie’s parents with their cousins. Sal and Angie made the time to attend every one of their four children’s sporting events, school plays and concerts.
In 1970, the family was honored when Cardinal Moving was tasked with moving a very large and special cake through downtown Monterey as part of the City’s 200th Birthday Celebration. Sal can barely be seen in the attached photo, with his head just above the top layer, and longtime employees, Jack Stracuzzi and George “Smitty” Smith can be seen taking instructions from the Chef.
The Cardinale family has always been happy to offer their trucks and/or services to many community events. Cardinale Moving & Storage has always been there to help. Whether it was Monterey’s Birthday 200th Birthday Cake flatbeds to haul Monterey High School
L - R: Sal (hidden near top of cake) Jack Stracuzzi, Homecoming floats, storage for all those tables
George “Smitty” Smith, unidentified Chef needed at La Merienda, or trucks to help move
bleachers for the Bronco World Series.
Cardinale Moving & Storage is truly a family business; a place where many families’ brothers, sisters, sons, uncles, and nephews have worked and continue to work side by side. The Cardinale’s genuinely care about their employees, treating them more like a large extension of their Italian family. This does not go unnoticed by their staff; employee tenure is strong as nearly 40% of their workforce have been Cardinale employees for more than ten years.
The Cardinale legacy is not limited to the moving business. In the 70s, the family was instrumental in securing softball’s place on the peninsula. Not only did they sponsor a team, Sal coached the team, convinced Angie to be the manager, Vince the assistant coach, Roseann the scorekeeper; while both AnnaMarie and Sally played on the team. Cardinale Moving & Storage continues to sponsor a local softball team to this day.
Accepting Business of the Year Award, 2011 L - R: Chamber Reps, then Sal, Angie, Sally, Roseann Vince.
In 2011, Cardinale Moving was up for the award of Monterey Peninsula Chamber Business of the Year. This little family business went up against the local behemoths like Granite Construction, Cannery Row Company and CHOMP. But in the end … it was the little moving company that could and the community chose Cardinale Moving & Storage as the Business of the Year. 2011 was an exceptionally good year for the family as Sal also received personal recognition with the prestigious honor of being named an Italian Heritage Society Honoree of the Year. An honor that Roseann later received in 2015.
Sal passed away on November 28, 2019, but not before instilling his sense of family and community to his four children. Vince, Roseann (Orlebeck) and Sally now run the family business together. Daughter, AnnaMarie (Sheriff), who preceded Sal in death in 2014, also spent many years working in the family business. Grandson, Adam (Orlebeck), currently runs the container division of Cardinale Moving & Storage.
Comments