Donatos Pizza Serves Wilmington
- 9 hours ago
- 2 min read
"We've always tried to be community-first because that's the whole point... Because we only exist to serve the community," stated Drew DeVilbiss, President and second-generation owner of the Wilmington Donatos franchise group. Donatos, located at 860 Rombach Avenue, opened in Wilmington in 1992 as a franchise by Drew's father, Doug.
Drew grew up in Columbus, but spent "a lot of time" in Clinton County, as his grandparents lived in Wilmington. After graduating college in the late 2000s, Drew even lived in Wilmington for a period of time. He got involved with the family franchise in 2009, which includes three locations: Wilmington, Washington Court House, and Ashland (Kentucky).
Drew's father, Doug, opened the Wilmington location first and then each location a few years later. Doug had owned the building in Wilmington where Donatos is now and was planning on just selling it to Donatos, but after meeting with Donatos' founder, Jim Grote, he was inspired to open his own Donatos. Doug opened the other two locations in the 1990s and 2000s. According to Drew, there are over 200 Donatos locations nationwide.
Donatos offers pizza, calzones, subs, wings, desserts, and more. Drew shared that Donatos is known for their edge-to-edge toppings and signature party cut pizza. Although the Wilmington Donatos offers the same items as other Donatos locations, it is unique because of its "party room," where individuals and groups can host events. Drew hopes to grow community events in the party room and shared that anyone can reserve it.
Drew emphasized their "community-first, local" approach to restaurant service sharing that his father Doug was involved with the Wilmington-Clinton Chamber of Commerce, the tourism board, the parks department, and more. According to Drew, the store's general manager, Marcus Harris, is also heavily involved in the community. Donatos recently began a new partnership that allows them to host "Donation Days," where groups can partner with Donatos for a day and receive 20% of the profits when customers use a code.
Learn more about Donatos at donatos.com.