In the Beginning

At age eight, Richie DiPaolo was stocking shelves at his parents' neighborhood food Shoppe in the inner city on St. Clair Avenue. The DiPaolo family had immigrated from Introdoqua Italy in 1905. Paolo and Louisa Ricci DiPaolo put hard work, sweat and respect into the business. Mamma DiPaolo made the homemade bread and pasta. Paul waited on the customers. DiPaolo food shoppe was doing well but the neighborhood was changing. Somehow the DiPaolo's and their four children, including Richie, managed through the great depression and the war years. They prospered in those war years and so did a lot of their Italian customers. Because of their good fortune, many Italians moved out to the suburbs and shopped closer to home rather than the old DiPaolo neighborhood store. Business tailed off and there was Richie, a high school graduate married to Josephina Palma and earning fifteen dollars a week needing to make a career decision.

In 1957 Richie saw an emerging industry that merited attention. In those days it was not called the Italian-American industry but rather the institutional food business. Richie DiPaolo spotted a business with-in a business, the pizza industry. There were several new restaurants opening in Columbus called pizza houses. Rich saw an opportunity to supply these restaurants and in 1958 started DiPaolo food distributors. So with order pad in hand, he set out calling on the local pizza establishments. Usually this was done at night with his children Rita, Paul and Dick riding along in the back seat of his car.

Since beginning the food service business formally in 1957, Richie has been credited with spearheading several industry innovations on behalf of his customers. Richie convinced one supplier to create a pepperoni the size of a silver dollar, which was much larger than the quarter size slice of the time. That pepperoni has since become an industry standard. Richie further displayed his innovative thinking when he asked food producers to slice hot peppers into rings for use as toppings on pizza and submarine sandwiches. It was also Richie DiPaolo who first taught the industry to place pizzas in a newly designed box instead of a bag.

Many of the most well known pizza establishments know of Richie DiPaolo. The first pizza house in Columbus, Romeo's pizza, was his first customer. Other notables include Domino's Pizza and Donato's Pizza. If you have a favorite pizza there's an excellent chance Richie DiPaolo has done business with them.

The largest food service company in the world, SYSCO, approached Richie in 1985 with plans to acquire the now multi million dollar food service operation. The executives of SYSCO had hopes of harnessing Richie and his sons' knowledge in order to help their corporation fully understand the Italian food service market. This relationship lasted ten years with DiPaolo/SYSCO Food Service's annual revenues approaching the one hundred million dollar mark. With executive changes at SYSCO in 1995, Richie felt it was time to get back to his roots.

In 1996, while in his 70's, Richie, his sons and his grandsons decided to start a new type of food service distribution business. One designed to benefit the independent Italian pizza house or restaurant competing in the competitive times of fast food and corporate chains. This morphed company named RDP Food service (Richie's initials) was dedicated to being a business built on the personal feel of business from Richie's early days, coupled with the knowledge and efficiencies learned from the corporate days at SYSCO. In the six years of RDP Food service's existence it has gained 65% of the market share in the pizza and Italian food service market in central Ohio and has twice earned the award as one of Columbus's top fifty fastest growing companies by Business First Magazine.

Richie DiPaolo once stated that there is no great secret to his and his family's success. Work hard, be honest, a little bit lucky and of course, remember your Italian American beginnings.

Richie DiPaolo passed away peacefully in his sleep at the age of 82. It was a Saturday, usually a day off for most, but not for Richie. He had worked that day as he always did. He had talked with customers who stopped in to say hi, and stocked shelves in his beloved cash-n-carry. Something he learned to do when he was eight.