Member Spotlight: DiBella’s Subs

Member Spotlight by Jillian Babcock, Marketing Manager

Provide us with a brief summary of your business’ services.
DiBella’s Subs is a family-owned restaurant with a reputation for quality, value and consistency. We started almost a century ago as a small corner grocery store and deli, and today we have 44 locations across five states – Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, and Connecticut, including two restaurants in the Columbus community. We pride ourselves on our familial culture among employees and guests. We have always been committed to giving back to the communities we serve, and our business is able to have an even greater impact because of the same level of support we receive from our loyal guests and communities.

Tell us about your company’s mission and values.
At DiBella’s, we believe it’s not just one ingredient that makes our subs special. We start with bread baked fresh at our in-house bakery, not once a day, but throughout the day. No matter what time you stop at DiBella’s, your sub will be served on the freshest roll you’ve ever tasted. Each roll is scored and seasoned by hand before going into our oven. We still use baking techniques that were perfected in our first corner bakery in 1918, personalizing each meal with the highest-quality meats, cheeses and condiments. Every sub we make for our guests is the most important sub we’ve ever made, and it will be made with pride.

Doing anything worthwhile in life must be done with passion and pride – that is a fundamental truth of DiBella’s. We’re committed to quality, and craft every meal with pride and passion to ensure every guest is an important part of the DiBella’s family. As community leaders, we also value partnership and collaboration. We believe our success is equal to the success of our communities. We are proud to be a part of our guests’ lives, both at the lunch or dinner table, and as a supporter of causes important to them, as we all strive to make our community a better place to live, work and play. We support a variety of educational, athletic, health, arts, religious, charitable or community non-profit organizations – on national and local levels – by giving back through in-kind donations, sponsorships and throughout Community Cash fundraising program.

What are the services you use the most (or are looking forward to using) from the Columbus Chamber?
We are looking forward to connecting with other members in the chamber, participate in networking events and explore opportunities to collaborate with other businesses in Columbus in the future.

How do you stay engaged with trends that you see in your industry?
In response to COVID-19, we quickly adapted our procedures to keep our guests and employees safe. We added touchless delivery and curbside pickup so guests could enjoy our food without coming into our restaurants or interacting with a delivery person. We adapted our catering trays by wrapping each sub piece individually. We’ve continued to offer individual boxed lunches and those have become a popular option for a safe and easy complete lunch. We’ve upgraded our technology to better serve our guests through COVID. In addition to curbside pickup, guests can now scan one of the QR codes inside and outside of our restaurants and turn their cell phone into an ordering kiosk. We are improved our online ordering interface, rolled out a brand new website and have strengthened the backend system of our restaurant support center.

Please describe your company culture.
DiBella’s Subs has an inclusive and familial culture. Before the restrictions from COVID-19, we made sure to regularly visit employees at all 44 locations and engage in dialogue about what’s happening in their store and in their community. We continue to encourage open dialogue, although we have since shifted to more virtual methods, because we believe being able to share different perspectives and celebrate individuality is part of what being a family is all about.

What defines a successful employee at your company?
Our employees are committed to quality and excellence, and take pride in curating the perfect sub for every guest. They participate in training with DiBella’s Academy, take time to treat each guest with respect, and help other team members strive to be community leaders. We always strive to promote from within. DiBella’s is a place where you can start as a baker, and grow into a district manager position, or higher.

We are the brand we are because we have always taken the road less traveled. Our employees don’t cut corners and don’t rush the process of creating the perfect sub. Baking our bread is done with pride and an intense attention to detail. We cut our meats every day because we take pride in the freshness and flavor that results. We have pride in treating every guest as family, because no guest should experience anything less than that. Doing anything worthwhile in life must be done with passion and pride. And that is a fundamental truth of DiBella’s. Every sub we make for our guests is the most important sub we’ve ever made and it will be made with pride.

What makes Columbus such a great place to do business?
Columbus is one of the fastest growing cities for small businesses in the U.S., thanks mostly to recent college graduates and young professionals moving to – or choosing to stay in – Ohio after graduation. Columbus has the advantage of being home to many colleges, including the best college sports team in the country, Ohio State University.

In recent years, many college graduates decided to live and work in Columbus because of its location. Sitting conveniently in the center of Ohio, Columbus is close to several other big cities in the state. We also have great diversity here in Columbus that you do not see other places.

Social Media
Twitter: www.twitter.com/dibellassubs
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dibellassubs
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dibella’s-old-fashioned-submarines
Instagram: www.instagram.com/dibellassubs
Website: www.dibellas.com