Local Man Helping D'Angelo's Navigate Its Comeback

MELROSE, MA — It's probably not every young boy's dream to grow up to be a top executive of a sub franchise. It certainly wasn't Jim Croteau's when he was growing up the youngest of eight boys in Melrose.

Being at the bottom of the brother totem pole, he didn't have much direction. He wasn't getting pushed — or at least, not the kind that challenges you to reach higher.

So after his family moved to Billerica, he figured he'd try to get a job at the D'Angelo's in Woburn.

He parlayed his job as a prep person — the guy slicing the turkey and mixing the tuna to start the day — into a position as a shift leader. He made mistakes, but learned, and from there climbed the ranks that led to him holding just about every job title one can have at D'Angelo's, including his current one: senior vice president of operations.

"It wasn't necessarily the plan," Croteau said, "But hard work and dedication — it paid off for me."

Thirty years later the local boy — he still lives in Manchester, N.H. — oversees the local famed sandwich chains. D'Angelo's may not scream "Northeast" like Dunkin' and Friendly's, but according to its website all 81 of its locations are in Massachusetts, which has 48, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Maine.

"New England is unique for anybody that lives in this area, you've got a different cliental that you're dealing with," Croteau said. "I think you talk to most and they'd describe New Englanders as tough, direct, blunt, blue-collar workers that happen to love a nice hearty steak-and-cheese sub, so we kind of fit in perfectly in that sense."

Those 81 New England locations are fewer than half of what D'Angelo's featured before closing more than 100 in 2018. Things looked bleak for the Dedham-based company after its parent company filed for bankruptcy.

But the sub shops survived.

"The good news is right now as a company we're in a very favorable spot," Croteau' said. "We went through some pain obviously in 2018 and now we're on a growth pattern."

Part of that includes some innovation. D'Angelo's in 2020 opened in a West Barnstable travel plaza as part of its new agreement with Global Partners, a Waltham-based energy supply company which has acquired hundreds and hundreds of gas stations — the kind of places D'Angelo's might be able to expand into.

D'Angelo's will soon open in Leominster, its first company-owned opening since the 2018 downsizing. And there's likely another one set for New Hampshire in the coming months, Croteau said.

D'Angelo's isn't fundamentally changing. The quality, Croteau maintains, is as strong as ever. The company is experimenting with more convenient pick-up options, and there might be healthy smoothie options on the way.

But the favorites are here to stay, just like D'Angelo's.