D’Elia’s Grinders Celebrates 70 Years In Riverside With Throwback Prices

Christina Serrato, 61, reminisced on the countless memories she’s made with her family while eating at D’Elia’s Grinders.

“My parents used to bring us to D’Elia’s back when I was 5 years old,” Serrato said, while listing all of the sandwich shop’s previous locations that her family frequently visited over the years. Her fondest memory of the local sandwich shop was when one of the owners handed her a couple of loaves of their handmade bread, free of charge.

“That was very nice of him, a very humble man,” she said.

That act of kindness, combined with her love for the eatery, was why she stood in line for more than two hours along with hundreds of other Inland Empire residents on September 20 to order a 65-cent sandwich.  

The throwback pricing was part of D’Elia’s Grinders’ 70th Anniversary celebration, where the restaurant offered a wide range of sandwiches with a price matching that of when they first opened the restaurant in 1955. 

The family-owned business, now run by the third-generation cousins Brian Perrone and Johnny Perrone Jr., previously held a similar deal during the 60th anniversary where a line of customers stretched around the block.

A nearly identical scene played out over the weekend. 

The line wrapped around the eatery’s University Avenue location, down the street and into the surrounding neighborhood. Some attendees sat in folding chairs, others placed blankets to sit on the concrete and many others stood for hours waiting for the restaurant to open. 

Those at the very front of the line waited about six hours, lining up at 4 a.m., to order a grinder made with D’Elia’s popular handmade East Coast-style bread.

“It’s not something that I would do,” Brian said. “I won’t wait an hour and a half in the line in Disneyland for my favorite ride, so it really is humbling.”

Johnny also said he felt an immense gratitude for the support customers showed during the celebration, adding that the early-birds lined up at about the same time his employees arrived to begin baking bread for the event.

Throughout the day, customers filed into the restaurant doors, ordering their favorite grinders, as Brian and Johnny worked to ensure the entire event ran smoothly. 

Yet, time and time again, Brian and Johnny stopped to talk with customers eager to share some of their favorite memories made at D’Elia’s. Attendees also flocked to second-generation owners, twins John and Joe Perrone, to offer their gratitude for the decades of service once they arrived. 

“They’re rarely here during our open hours,” Johnny said. “Just having them here for a couple of hours at the same time, people will come in and pay a regular price just to chat with them almost like they are celebrities.”

The four family members also received several plaques of recognition from local politicians, like State Sen. Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside) and Assemblymember Leticia Castillo (R-Home Gardens), throughout the day thanking the Perrone family for being a Riverside staple.

Both Brian and Johnny said they hope they can continue to be a mainstay in the community and host another celebration in 10, or maybe even five, years. 

“Who knows,” Johnny said. “Who knows what the future brings?”