If you’ve designed your dream kitchen around the full suite of Sub-Zero refrigeration and Wolf cooking appliances, you might be surprised to learn that these perfectly paired partners weren’t always the blissfully wedded couple we know and love today.
Both the Wolf and Sub-Zero brands go back to the early decades of the 20th century, and both were known in their respective industries for superb engineering and quality workmanship — but it wasn’t until the dawn of the 21st century that the two brands converged into the unique Sub-Zero and Wolf brand identity that defines luxury, design, and professionalism in the home appliance marketplace.
Back in 1934, the Wolf brothers, Al and Hyman, set up shop repairing and reconditioning household kitchen ranges and became so well known for their ability to modify appliances to customer specifications that local Los Angeles restaurants ordered ranges for their own kitchens. The savvy brothers knew an opportunity when they saw it and soon launched a commercial enterprise building professional-grade ranges for the restaurant industry.
Within just a few years, the Wolf brothers had expanded to the manufacture a full line of restaurant and commercial appliances ranging from griddles to the seamless stainless, sealed-burner professional ranges that became the jumping-off point for the luxury Wolf appliances that grace so many beautiful homes today.
The Wolf Range Company name soon became synonymous with the finest in commercial cooking equipment. In the 1970s, with the rising interest in gourmet home cooking, many homeowners began to demand higher-performance ranges for their kitchens, and the Wolf brothers once again responded to market demand by developing a separate line of home kitchen ranges that offered the efficiency, durability, and performance of commercial products but with a flair of elegant design. Wolf’s scaled-down but sleek home ranges give the home chef — or just enthusiastic cook — the cutting-edge cooking and baking features of the commercial product.
The Wolf brand eventually attracted the attention of Sub-Zero, which saw in the company a shared philosophy of excellence in engineering, design, and customer service. Sub-Zero wanted to expand its reach by offering cooking as well as refrigeration capabilities, and the Wolf brand seemed the perfect complement to its existing products.
In 2000, Sub-Zero acquired the residential side of the Wolf company to create the ideal corporate companion and kitchen soul mate to Sub-Zero. Wolf still manufactures commercial grade equipment in association with Vulcan FEG.
One signature of Wolf ranges that has remained constant throughout the product’s history is the trademarked red control knobs. Long a signature of the commercial ranges, the red knobs signal to casual and knowing observers alike that this range delivers the best and most advanced cooking features to be found anywhere. (You can also select black or stainless steel knobs, but why would you?)
The Sub-Zero/Wolf union has been a marriage made in appliance heaven. And like many fruitful marriages, it has produced some delightful offspring. In 2015, a new luxury line of countertop appliances and kitchen tools came on the scene. Wolf Gourmet products, a new luxury line of countertop appliances and kitchen tools, maintain the high standards of quality, state-of-the-art technology, thoughtful, innovative design, and the impeccable workmanship for which Wolf is known.