But Who's Counting? Season 2 Episode 2: Preserving a Family Legacy One Hot Salami at a Time with Alex and Amanda Donley of Gioia's Deli

News Podcasts

Running a family business is difficult but ensuring that the business grows and thrives through generations can feel impossible. Developing a sense of balance, settling on a vision and making hiring decisions to work smarter, not harder helped turn Gioia’s Deli into a multi-generational St. Louis institution.

In this episode of But Who’s Counting?, host David E. Hartley talks with hot salami royalty, Gioia’s Deli owners Amanda and Alex Donley to discuss the challenges they’ve faced as fifth generation small business owners and what they’ve learned over the years, including:

The importance of establishing a network of mentors and peers
Social media is an important tool, but letting it become a distraction is bad business
Empowering employees to take ownership in the business and creating opportunities to encourage employee buy-in
Challenges and opportunities involved in scaling up the business
How to bounce back from mistakes and truly learn from them, not run from them

“Social media brings people in the door, but it’s not going to keep them.”
–Alex Donley

“One of the biggest things that we learned is that we have an aligned vision as a team … Our vision is to protect this brand and to ensure it’s around for another hundred and five years.”
–Amanda Donley

About Gioia’s Deli

Established in 1918 and purchased by the Donley family in 1980, Gioia’s Deli is a favorite St. Louis eatery. Their hot salami sandwiches made them a famed landmark in The Hill, an Italian neighborhood in South St. Louis. In 2017, Gioia’s Deli was honored as a James Beard America’s Classic, the first restaurant in St. Louis to receive the award.

Resources to Count On

Check out these additional resources for more insight into Gioia’s Deli’s history and present:

Listen to But Who’s Counting? by subscribing on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and let us know what you think by rating and reviewing.

Our firm provides this information for general educational guidance only and does not constitute the provision of legal advice, tax advice, accounting services, investment advice, or professional consulting of any kind. The information provided herein should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional tax, accounting, legal, or other competent advisers. Before making any decision or taking any action, you should consult a professional adviser who has been provided with all pertinent facts relevant to your particular situation. Podcasts posted by Anders CPAs + Advisors are not intended to be used and cannot be used by any individual or business, for the purpose of avoiding accuracy-related penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer. The information is provided "as is," with no assurance or guarantee of completeness, accuracy, or timeliness of the information, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of performance, merchantability, and fitness for a particular purpose. Please note that some content may be generated using artificial intelligence and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. In no way does listening, reading, emailing or interacting on social media with our content establish a professional relationship.

All Podcasts