DiCarlo Food Service is one of the largest privately owned wholesale food distributors in the nation. They provide a surprising array of products: Knishes from Gabila’s Knish in Copiague, pasta from Bruno’s Specialty Foods in West Sayville— even mixers from The Murph’s Famous Bloody Mary Mix in Melville–all food items that are grown, raised, baked, battered or otherwise sourced from Long Island.
In a wholesale food distribution industry that has changed mightily over the last five years alone — with as many as 10 on Long Island distributors either selling or going out of business — DiCarlo Food Service has managed to not only survive, but thrive.
How have they managed such a feat? The company attributes this to a loyal staff, local producers, white glove service, and customers who become friends. And maybe also because they make themselves available–anyone can easily get a DiCarlo on the phone. In short, whether your name is Di Carlo or not, to them it’s family.
“This company was built on the support of family-owned restaurants and local manufacturers,” said Michael DiCarlo, VP of Sales at DiCarlo. “Some have been buying from us for 30, 40, 50 years, and now the original owners’ grandchildren are buying from us. It’s just an amazing thing to see and experience.”
Knowing the business and thriving in it means knowing that times change, the DiCarlo family is wise enough to evolve along with it.
Michael DiCarlo offers an example of what this means in practical terms: “The Food Network has really helped expand people’s palates in more gastronomical ways, so we’re always trying to bring in more products so our customers can expand their menus and their businesses.”
Also, in the past 10 years especially, the team says, the shift away from frozen food at even your basic Long Island corner pub has been remarkable.
“It’s gone from hockey puck burger patties at the supermarket to crafted, blended burgers from chuck, short rib and brisket that has that nice, fresh flavor,” Vincent Jr. said.
“They’re using fresh, non-pasteurized lime juice instead of Rose’s,” added Michael DiCarlo. “Everything is going fresh. And our sales team is constantly asking the restaurants, ‘What can we get for you? What are the customers asking for?’”
To continue doing so, DiCarlo is expanding its operations yet again. This winter, another 580,000 cubic-foot refrigerated storage space will come online. That’s in addition to the existing 5 million cubic feet of dry, refrigerated and freezer storage at the company’s 20-acre headquarters on North Ocean Avenue, just south of the LIE.
The story of the Di Carlo family’s rise in the food distribution sector is as good as a novel. Three DiCarlo brothers, starting with James and Vincent, helped grow the company from one Polly-O food route in Mastic Beach to today’s 10-state operation. “The boys” were already familiar with the Italian food game, as their parents, Michelina and Vincent DiCarlo, first bought a truck in 1927 to deliver cheese to Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan, then later opened several more deli and dairy businesses in Brooklyn and Long Island until 1960.
Eventually each brother got a “Polly-O” route and the business grew along with them. After several expansions in Shirley, DiCarlo Distributors, Inc., as it was called then, moved to its current headquarters in 1986. Now the company employs roughly 250 people, 90 percent of whom live on Long Island.
“We’re proud of how everything turned out,” John Sr. said. “It’s not an easy business. Distribution isn’t easy with trucks and drivers and everything else you need, but we have good employees and people who want to work and earn a good living. We’ve been blessed in that regard. But it takes a lot of work.”
DiCarlo doesn’t just service restaurants and pizzerias, but also nursing homes, schools, national chain restaurants, fast food, catering halls, country clubs, even food carts. They also support dozens of Nassau and Suffolk food vendors like butchers and bakers–plus they are the largest buyer of local produce on Long Island.
During the pandemic the Di Carlo’s did their bit to help Long Islanders. They took the marketplace to an outdoor tent to sell everything from meat to toilet paper and other needed goods that were hard to find at local supermarkets. They even did free deliveries to those who were sick or otherwise homebound, and sent food and supplies to food banks and homeless shelters across the Tri-State area.
The company supports a slew of charitable organizations: Island Harvest, Hope House Ministries, Suffolk County Woman’s Alliance to End Food Insecurity among them.
“We like doing all this,” Michael DiCarlo said. “It makes you feel good; it really does.”
John Sr. adds, “But what’s most rewarding is to see the company grow and prosper…we employ a lot of people and watched multiple generations of their families grow. We’ve had people with us for up to 40 years.”
