About Roseann
Biography
Born into a family with a history of food service and later making her mark with a restaurant filling a unique niche in the community, Roseann Lubold has been selected for the Indiana County Business Hall of Fame.
As a daughter of Tony and Emma Novosel Ricupero, Lubold learned early in life the high standards set by her father as owner of The Rustic Lodge banquet and event facility in White Township. Roseann studied food service at Carnegie Tech and developed a disciplined work ethic while helping where and when needed at Rustic Lodge – and for a time preparing food for events at the residence of the president of Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, Lubold enjoyed two other great passions of her life – devotion to her family and dedication to her community.
Roseann and Richard Lubold raised a family of 10 children, many of whom also learned the values of hard work and the gifts of good cooking skills while they, too, worked for her family's restaurant ventures. "Going out to eat" did not have to be a special occasion for the Lubold family, as dining at home always was a memorable experience. Three times, Lubold oversaw the remodeling and enlargement of the kitchen in her family's home.
It was after most of her children left home for college or to start their own families when Lubold, at age 55, launched Roseann's Everyday Gourmet next door to Rustic Lodge on Oakland Avenue. At an age when many other people would be considering retirement, Roseann aimed to fill what she saw as a special need in Indiana – a restaurant specializing in convenient and high-quality meals for seniors, single parents and working mothers with little time to make their own meals.
Roseann's Everyday Gourmet began as a takeout deli and bakery. She grew the business over the next three decades, adding two dining rooms and an outdoor patio and developing a catering service with a loyal following. Lubold grew the staff from four people in 1985 to 27 employees in 2015, when she celebrated 30 years in business.
Roseann Lubold celebrated her love for Indiana at almost every turn. Her spare moments were dedicated to the charitable services of Junior Women's Civic Club, the Catholic Daughters of the Americas, and Indiana Hospital Auxiliary. She was a regular and active organizer of May Mart with the Indiana Garden Club. Lubold served as a district chairwoman of the annual March of Dimes campaign.
She dedicated her philanthropic efforts over the years to Alice Paul House, Chevy Chase Community Center, The Salvation Army and the IRMC Women's Imaging Center.
Roseann Lubold and her children also endowed a scholarship fund at IUP for culinary arts students in memory of her parents, the Tony and Emma Ricupero-Rustic Lodge Scholarship, and took that dedication to heart by regularly offering internships and employment opportunities for culinary grads.
In a 2008 article about Roseann's Everyday Gourmet in Small Town Life magazine, Lubold told of tapping her Italian-Croatian heritage, preserving her parents' recipes and remaining aware of dietary trends in dining to build a popular and evolving menu of meal offerings. She followed these guiding principles while operating the restaurant for 38 years, until her death in 2022 at age 92.
"For helping me to stay enthusiastic and experimental in the kitchen, I credit the dedication and motivation of my staff, as well as the expectations of my customers, who share my philosophy of high standards," Roseann Lubold told the magazine. "Our mission is to satisfy our customers' needs with quality products and service ... I hope I have made a favorable impact in Indiana and surrounding communities."
The Indiana County Chamber of Commerce presents Roseann Lubold, a posthumous selection for the Class of 2023 of the Business Hall of Fame.