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Donatos pizzeria
COURTESY DONATOS PIZZERIA
IT’S ONE OF THOSE RAGS-TO-RICHES, pepperoni-andmushroom stories that sounds too good to be true. In 1963, Ohio State University sophomore Jim Grote borrowed some money, put down $1,300 and purchased the pizza shop on Thurman Avenue in Columbus where he’d worked for several years. That shop—called Donatos— grew into a large chain that continues to follow Grote’s formula for success: “To make the best pizza and treat others the way I would like to be treated.” Donatos quickly came to dominate the Central Ohio market with its signature thin crust, rectangle-cut pies and its mantra of putting at least 100 pieces of meat on every large pepperoni pizza. Grote began to expand throughout the state and beyond. By the late 1990s, Donatos Pizzeria LLC (then called Donatos Pizza Inc.) had about 150 restaurants, and attracted the attention of fast-food giant McDonald’s. The company was looking to expand beyond burgers and fries and purchased Donatos in 1999. The marriage was short-lived, however, and Grote and one of his daughters, Jane Grote Abell,
★ Business ★
bought back the company in 2003. Today, Donatos has 157 restaurants in six states (and one being constructed in Virginia), including 61 in the Columbus market. The original Thurman Avenue shop is still going strong. The company created Jane’s Dough Foods in 2008, a division that provides pre-risen dough, par-baked pizza crusts and pre-topped pizzas for food service distributors and retailers. Donatos has big plans for the coming decade. Abell, the company’s chairwoman, and Tom Krouse, who was named CEO in 2010, want to more than double the number of restaurants and eventually become a national chain. Although not involved in the dayto-day operations, Grote is still the philosophical leader of the company—and TV pitchman. “The Donatos legacy is our mission to promote goodwill through product and service, principles and people,” Grote said in an October 2010 press release. “We’re excited for the future of our company.” —Steve Wartenberg
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