A businessman with a big heart

WINSTED — In every small town there is at least one person who everyone knows as "a good guy." A person who may appear quiet, but who speaks up when something needs to be said. A businessman with a big heart who truly cares about his customers and the town in which he lives. In Winsted, that person is Pat DiMauro, owner and operator of John’s Import Deli.

DiMauro was born and raised in Winsted. A graduate of The Gilbert School, he began working at his father’s store (the original John of John’s Import) when he was about 17 years old.

Originally located on Main Street where ABC Pizza is today, John’s Import was relocated to its present-day location in 1981. At the time the North Main Street building was actually a gas station. With a little work and the addition of John’s Package store, owned and operated by DiMauro’s brother, John, John’s Import has a great location on the bottom of Holabird Avenue and is directly in the center of the college campus.

After high school, DiMauro worked at various jobs, including Sterling Engineering and Executive Greetings, but in the end he was drawn back to the family business. In 1990 he bought the store from his brother, Santo, who operated the business after their father.

"We wanted to keep it in the family as much as we could," said DiMauro.

In 1999, looking for a change of pace, DiMauro decided to sell the store — a tough decision, but one he felt was right at the time. It was ultimately purchased by someone outside of the family and for seven years DiMauro worked for Spinella’s bakery, delivering bread. When John’s Import started to fail as a business, he knew he had to rescue the deli.

"I couldn’t see the business going down the tubes. I had to come back," said DiMauro.

While it has taken a great deal of work to bring the business back to life over the last year, DiMauro said he is pleased with the direction things are going.

"Finally, things are starting to turn around. It’s taking some time. People are starting to come back," said DiMauro, who added he has no plans to leave again anytime soon.

"My daughter is here helping me out. My boys come down sometimes and help me, too. We’re trying to get the family back involved." DiMauro and his wife, a teacher at Hinsdale School, have three children.

In addition to running the deli/convenience store full-time, DiMauro is actively involved in coaching, his true passion. Currently the Gilbert girls JV soccer and Pearson boys basketball coach, DiMauro has also worked as the JV softball coach at Northwestern.

"I just like coaching. That’s my dream, to someday coach permanently. I just like working with kids, too," said DiMauro.

John’s Import is located at 98 Main St. Open from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, the store offers a variety of Italian specialty items and deli meats as well as convenience store items. Their new phone number is 860-379-1805 and phone orders for sandwiches and other items are gladly accepted.

"I guess I’ll always be a Winsted raggie. There’s no way around it, but that’s a good thing," said DiMauro, obviously proud of his roots and his community. "It’s a very good thing."