Tom Dumit returned to his hometown of Toledo bringing Donatos pizza, subs and salads with him.

Dumit is president and managing partner of the Breaking Bread Pizza Company which owns and operates the Donatos franchise for Northwest Ohio. It’s not new for Dumit who has worked for Donatos since 1999, most recently as vice president of human resources.

Dumit said he signed a 10-store deal with Donatos for Northwest Ohio and Delaware County in 2006. He currently operates the only Donatos restaurant in the area located on Conant Street in Maumee.

“I couldn’t resist the opportunity to come back to Ohio and be part of what’s going on at Donatos,” he said about joining the company that was owned by McDonald’s at the time.

The restaurant chain specializes in pizza, subs and salads with carry-out, delivery and dine-in for about 40 people at the Maumee location. The unique thing about Donatos is the drive-through window for people to pick up their carry-out orders or to order on the go, said Dumit.

Donatos is renowned for its signature, trademarked “Edge to Edge” pizzas loaded with the finest cheeses, meats, and freshest vegetables hand-sliced daily in every restaurant.

“The quality of the pizza and overall value is phenomenal,” he said. “Donatos’ Edge to Edge large pizza is like an extra large at other pizza places.”

Dumit said Donatos is known for its thin crust pizza, cinnamon twists and apple crisp, all based on its own dough made with special ingredients at its plant in the Columbus area.

Donatos also features pizzeria and signature subs, salads and Stromboli. It offers daily specials such as all you can eat pizza, salad and breadsticks for $5.99 on Wednesday night from 5 to 8 p.m. and Sunday afternoon from noon to 3 p.m.

With his background in human resources, Dumit realizes that people are an important ingredient in the food service business.

He said he trains his own employees and managers, focusing on three things — being friendly to every customer, double-checking to make sure every order is right and getting the food to the customer on time with “promise time” delivery at Donatos.

“If the customers are not happy, then we’re not happy. It’s important that we have the right people,” Dumit said.

He is in the Toledo area regularly to make sure the Donatos in Maumee stays on track. He has an experienced general manager, Scott Wiesler, who has been in the restaurant business for many years.

They have three full-time managers, 12 part-time employees and a full-time delivery driver during the day at the Maumee store.

“We get customers from as far away as Michigan to the north and Findlay to the south. People and lots of OSU students who tried the pizza in Columbus come here for more,” he said.

Dumit said he plans to open a store in Findlay in June, another in Bowling Green, as many as five in Toledo and two near Columbus.

Dumit was born and raised in Toledo, graduating from St. Johns Jesuit High School in 1972. He currently lives outside of Columbus but his and his wife’s families still live here.

He got his start in the restaurant business working in McDonald’s as a teenager in Toledo. He later managed the Ponderosa restaurants on Central Avenue and Woodville Road and served as a district manager for the chain in Connecticut.

He worked for Metro Media Restaurants for 20 years as director of human resources and then as vice president of human resources for the company’s Bennigans restaurants in Texas.

Dumit did not want to discuss his investment in Donatos but did confirm the accuracy of the franchise information on the company’s website. It takes a minimum net worth of $1.5 million with $300,000 in cash or equivalent and $750,000 in liquid assets to own a Donatos franchise that costs $25,000 per restaurant.

Donatos was founded in 1963 when Jim Grote bought a small pizzeria on the south side of Columbus with the goal of creating a business that was unique. It has grown to almost 200 company and franchise-owned locations, including more than 50 in the Columbus area.

Grote serves as CEO and his daughter, Jane Abell, as president and COO.

Tags: Brief Case, Business, Donatos Pizza, Tom Dumit

This entry was posted on Friday, January 28th, 2011 at 11:07 pm and is filed under Brief Case, Toledo Business Link.
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