By Staff Writer Mary Chao
A Gates Delicatessen is hoping Rochesterians’ love for white hots and the curiosity of people who have never heard of Zweigle’s will fuel the business for the next generation.
When Calebresella’s Delicatessen opened in 1975, people flocked from all over to the Rochester area for prosciutto ham, extra sharp provolone cheese, olive oils and other Italian delicacies.
At that time, olive oils couldn’t be found in the grocery stores, said deli owner Dominic Mammoliti.
But with the proliferation of gourmet cooking shows, interest in ethnic cooking has grown. The deli on Buffalo Road competes with Wegmans and Tops, which now carry imported foods, said Mammoliti, who took over the business nine years ago from his father William, an Italian immigrant.
Dominic Mammoliti wracked his brain to come up with an idea to keep his family business afloat.
He found his answer when he saw a national television ad for Omaha Steaks. He asked himself why wouldn’t that work for Rochester’s famous Zweigle’s white hots. ''I don’t see why it can’t be as popular as Omaha Steaks,'' he said.
Two years ago, Mammoliti negotiated an exclusive distributorship with Zweigle’s Inc. and began selling both red and white hots online. At first, business was lean. But it didn’t take long to pick up, he said.
Rochesterians would but the hot dogs to ship to friends as gifts, or people intrigued by the white hots purchased them to experience a new flavor, Mammoliti said. ''The first year, we were excited if we got one hit. Now we average 1,800 pounds of Zweigle’s every month,'' he said. And the new online business is helping to keep the deli and sub business on Buffalo Road open. Although Zweigle’s accounts for more than 90 percent of the online business, Mammoliti also sells Italian and Mediterranean foods, as well as other Rochester products on his site.
The online business is helped by the fact that white hots are a novelty in other areas of the country, said Warren Sackler, associate professor at Rochester Institute of Technology’s School of Hospitality and Service Management. ''It’s a topic of discussion – people talk about white hot dogs,'' Sackler said.
But Mammoliti believes white hots are more than a fly-by-night trend. He said many of his orders are from repeat customers from across the country. ''This is not a fad,'' Mammoliti said. ''It’s like we send smiles to people.