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Small Business Award ‘05 Harry & Patsy Hill

It took a special event to get Harry and Patsy Hill to leave their Papa's Deli restaurants during the busy lunch hour. But watching Patsy's brother and sister-in-law win an award from the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce was special.

So the Hills were at the chamber's Jan. 18 annual meeting, and they made sure other family members were on hand too. There was just one problem, though. Patsy's brother and sister-in-law didn't win an award.

Harry and Patsy did.
The Hills had been tricked. As chamber board member Steve Gochenour began describing the winner of the 2005 Small Business Award, Harry turned to Patsy and said, "That's us."

"Our friends and employees, they all knew," Harry said. "We were the only ones who didn't."
The couple said winning the award is a huge honor, especially, Harry said, when he looks at the list of previous winners.

"It's nothing but a humbling experience," he said.
"To us it's like a Golden Globe," Patsy said. "I want to build a whole house around it."
Eventually, Harry would like to use the award as a sort of traveling trophy to honor outstanding performance at the three Papa's locations. But that might have to wait.

"Right now I can't get it off the mantel," Patsy said.
Married 25 years, the Hills opened their first pizza store in 1986 in North Vernon. A year later they opened Papa Harry's Pizza in Columbus, followed by the first Papa's Deli in 1989.

Today they are out of the pizza business, but keep plenty busy running their three deli locations on Washington Street, Third Street and their newest outlet in the Two Mile House Shoppes.

While they have no immediate plans, they won't rule out a possible fourth location.
Patsy spends most of her time at the new westside location, while Harry tends to float from store to store. They acknowledge working 60-hour weeks, but say most of the credit for their success lies with others.

"We believe it's our people, to be honest with you," Harry said, noting that Papa's has several employees who have been with the company from seven to 18 years.

"That doesn't sound like a big thing, but in the restaurant field, it is."
"We have very dedicated, loyal employees," Patsy said. "They're very company oriented."
Though the Hills have no plans to retire anytime soon, their son Dustin and grandson Jody are being groomed to take over the business someday. Dustin, who manages the downtown store, is slowly taking over Harry's duties. Over the years other family members have helped too.

"We've always tried to keep family involved," Patsy said. "It's really a mom and pop business.
And, she said, customers appreciate that. For example, her mother used to bake all the cakes for the business. When her mother died, Patsy decided she could just buy desserts.

"That didn't fly," she said. "Now I bake all the cakes."
The Hills also realize that they'd be nowhere without their customers, who have plenty of other choices when it comes to dining out.

"We have a product, our food," Harry said, "but just like everyplace else, we're selling service."
"We have such loyal customers," Patsy said. "A lot of them have become really good friends."
Having satisfied customers gives the Hills a lot of satisfaction, too.
"I love it when someone comes up and says, ‘I had your sandwich, and it was delicious,'" Harry said. "I guess it's just the recognition that you get."

Being recognized by the chamber was just icing on the cake, or mayo on the corned beef.
"It was a great boon to me," Harry said. "It seemed like it was all worthwhile."
While they don't regret the long hours, they would like to slow down a little bit, take some longer vacations. "It doesn't seem like work," Harry said.

"We enjoy the customers," Patsy added. "It's rewarding. It's just a pleasure."
"This is what we do," Harry said. "We love it, and I can't see us ever doing anything else."
Papa's Deli owners still delight in satisfying thier customers.

Written by: By Doug Showalter, Editor, The Business Connection