NFIB Member
David Battisti is the proud owner of one of the largest grocery retailer and
distributors of Italian-American products in the Trenton, NJ area. His family
has been in the food business for 94 years which he accredits to the family’s
shared strong work ethic.
“We pride
ourselves on hard work, respect, honesty, quality, and excellent customer
service,” he said.
The story of
the Battisti family and their business is one of true American spirit which began
with his Italian immigrant grandfather, who pulled himself up by his bootstraps
to start his own business.
David’s
Grandfather, Gabriel Battisti, emigrated from Italy to the United States at the
age of 16, unable to speak English and with no family in America. After working
for several years for the railroad, he founded the family businesses in 1920
when he partnered with his brother-in-law Samuel Mazzilli. In 1950 David’s father, Gabriel Battisti Jr.
embarked upon a business venture on his own when he opened a grocery store and
butcher shop in Hamilton Township, which eventually lead to him being a part of
the founding of the Shop n Bag supermarket chain. In the interest of diversification,
Gabriel formed the business that David now runs which is known as The Pork Roll Store in Allentown, NJ.
“We are
carrying on that age-old tradition of custom meat passed down from three
generation of family know-how and customer satisfaction,” David said.
The Pork
Roll Store offers a large variety of homemade meat products; country made pork roll,
polish kielbasa, Italian sausage and much more! Their homemade products are available
via retail, wholesale, and mail.
David said
that he’s following family tradition by staying innovative; he regularly spends
time educating himself about product technology. He also attends seminars in
U.S.D.A compliance, and researches updates online.
“This enables
us to always be trend ready. After 94 years in business things have changed and
it’s time to reinvent ourselves while staying true to our core values,” David
said. “I have been involved in the family business since I was ten years-old,
by the time I was 17 I was an accomplished butcher. Working after school and
through collage the family business has always been part of my life.”
After being
involved in the family business form a young age, David said he’s happy to own
the business and be a small business owner. He said that he finds formulating
new products and finding customers for them to be the most rewarding aspect of
owning the business. But, he also finds owing a small business challenging at times. He said that some of the biggest challenges a small
business owner can face are the laws and regulations that are mandated yearly.
“That is the
very reason why I joined NFIB,” he said. “I have experienced regulatory concerns
where I felt like we were engaging in attacks with automatic weapon war fare,
and I was standing there throwing rocks”
“It is great
to have a voice and this is what NFIB has done for me,” he said. “In this
ever-changing business climate it is great to have a resource that you can
count on. I have been involved in the leadership council with the NFIB for six
years now and I am planning to continue.”
Visit the Pork Roll Store’s Website
Follow the Pork Roll Store on Facebook
If you would like your business to be spotlighted, email Miranda Bond at [email protected]
