Di’Nics Roast Pork & Beef located on the Black Horse Pike near the “Audubon Acme Shopping Center” has quietly announced that this Saturday (July 19th) is their last day open.
Sad news for everyone but it seems there is a silver-lining for South Jersey sandwich lovers… and for the owners also.
UPDATE! Angelo’s Pizzeria South Philly is the new owner! YES, it’s THAT Angelo’s!
I stopped in at Di’nics today for an amazing Roast Pork Italiano and to chat with owners Joe and Michelle, who seem comfortable with the decision to sell the well-known Camden County sandwich shop.
Joe states it was time to move on to a more stable career… one where he can leave the concerns of the day job at work and enjoy family/home life even more, while also building up a retirement plan.
Di’Nics Roast Pork & Beef – 50+ Years
For over 50 years Di’nics has been in South Jersey, with Joe taking over about 9 years ago.
Di’nics features incredible pork and roast beef sandwiches… a family beef recipe that they say is “centuries old” featuring a special secret blend of spices.
First opened in 1973, Di’Nics gained local fame decades ago when they were in Mount Ephraim, operating in a distinctively compact building which was originally developed as a White Tower.
When the Mount Ephraim property at Kings Highway and Black Horse Pike was sold to develop the Walgreens Pharmacy, Di’Nics in 2007 moved a few miles up to the road to the West Collingswood Heights property. (Walgreens Mt Ephraim closed earlier this year)
The customers and accolades followed, with Di’Nics regularly being listed by the Courier-Post as one of South Jersey’s Best Roast Beef sandwiches… Which of course is going to leave many loving customers saddened by the loss of their favorite sandwich shop.
But there is some good news for South Jersey sandwich lovers as while Joe and Michelle cannot divulge the buyers name at this time, the new owner intends to continue operating as a sandwich shop under a different name… seemingly a name which is known in the area!
And you know as soon as I know who the new sandwich shop owner is, I’m sharing it with 42Freeway readers!
If you plan on vising Di’Nics over the next three days, they are operating with a shortened summertime schedule and I believe the sign on the front door said they close at 4:00 PM.
Somehow I didn’t grab a photo of that sign, but I will call Thursday morning to confirm. But absolutely Di’Nics is not open into the dinner time and in fact today they locked the doors behind me as I walked out at 3:30pm
Di’Nics New Jersey is located on the Black Horse Pike in the stretch of road between Fairview and the Audubon Acme Shopping Center.
The address is stated as West Collingswood Heights, and most refer to it as Audubon due to the closeness to the shopping center… but would you believe that Di’Nics and the surrounding neighborhood are actually Haddon Township!
The freestanding building is really perfectly suited for a sandwich shop with the building centered on the lot with parking surrounding it.
The decor is a comfortable local luncheonette design with a nice selection of Philly Team Sports memorabilia on the walls. I knew I liked the guy but when I heard Joe say “I hate the Mets. I hate them more than the Cowboys”…. well I wish I had spent more time hanging around at Di’Nics!
As mentioned the rockstars of the Di’Nics menu are the Oven Roasted Beef and Pork sandwiches.
Di’nics menu also expands into offering steak sandwiches, chicken cutlet sandwiches, hoagies and a variety of Italian specialty sandwiches such as homemade Italian meatballs, and sausage, pepper and onion sandwiches.
My lunch today was the Pork Italiano which features extra sharp provolone and broccoli rabe… absolutely out of this world! Thinly sliced pork that was super tender, flavorful pork gravy and the broccoli rabe was very tender with a little bit of extra “bite” to the flavor.
I forgot to ask which bakery they get their rolls from… mine was a seeded roll and was the perfect choice to tie the sandwich together.
At first I quietly listened to Joe and Michelle chatting with customers in the store about the pending closing. It was a good stream of customers coming in but honestly not one knew (until told) that this was likely their last visit at Di’Nics!
Joe Fabrizzio hails from South Philadelphia and took over the family restaurant 9 years ago.
Up until four years ago Joe and Michelle lived in South Philadelphia before moving over to Gloucester County New Jersey, not too far from this 42Freeway Writer.
Joe and Michelle work together in the restaurant and while I didn’t ask how many years that has been the case, they both seemed very happy with the working arrangement although also joked about looking forward to some extra “time separation” as the next career chapter unfolds itself as they move into other careers… separately!
As mentioned Joe says he’s looking ahead to his family’s future down the road and wants to make sure there’s a proper retirement with health benefits… something that’s just tough to find in a small family owned restaurant.
He also feels like he can never “shut down” from the restaurant… always on the clock, dealing with issues 24/7, and never really getting a true day off.
There are definitely some similarities to the closing of the D&S Sub Shop in Waterford works in December, when owner Daryl (who is closer to an actual retirement age) decided to sell his property after spending so much time in his shop cooking on the grill.
I wish you all luck as you write your next chapters!
Links and Location
Di’Nics Roast Pork & Beef – New Jersey310 Black Horse PikeWest Collingswood Heights, NJ 08059
856-931-6329