Local East Coast deli opens three locations

Local East Coast deli opens three locations

W.G. Grinders will open three new locations within the next few months. The company’s original restaurant, located on the corner of 12th Avenue and High Street, opened in October of 1989 as Grinders, featuring a deli-style menu.The new locations are Lazelle Road in North Columbus, Hard Road in Northwest Columbus and on Riverside Drive in Upper Arlington.Victor Bellisari, vice president of W.G. Grinders and a 1958 graduate of Ohio State, said when his son approached him with the idea of the restaurant he thought he was out of his mind. Michael Bellisari, a 1986 OSU graduate, was in an east coast deli and had no idea of what a ‘grinder’ was, until he tried one. He researched east coast restaurants and delis before opening the first store in 1989, Victor Bellisari said.’The whole reason behind naming the restaurant Grinders was because a hand full of Ohio State students come from the east coast where grinders are popular,’ Bellisari said.The name however, created a roadblock when the restaurant became successful and franchising became an option.’When you franchise, you have to trademark the name. So we had to come up with a new name because grinder is so common,’ said Connie Bellisari, vice president of administration, and an OSU graduate.Grinder is a name as well known among some as hamburger is among others. Therefore, it can’t be used as a trademark, Connie Bellisari said.Grinders chose the updated name when a customer told an employee that their sandwiches were the ‘world’s greatest grinders,’ so this turned into the franchise name, W.G. Grinders. It’s abbreviated to keep the name as close to the original name as possible, said Victor Bellisari.He said the restaurant will continue to expand in the near future. By April, the agenda of W.G. Grinders is to have six new locations. In 1997 there are hopes for a total of 12 new locations.W.G. Grinders plans locations in Cincinnati, Mansfield and Cleveland. In addition, possibilities for restaurants in other states, such as Florida are being discussed, said Connie Bellisari.’I could see having a couple hundred locations within the next 10 years,’ said Victor Bellisari.