After 75 years, this Philadelphia institution has become one of the top deli manufacturers in the country.
Almost 100 years ago, a German sausage maker came to the United States in search of a better life for himself and his family. He did — and how. The little deli meat business that Gottlieb Dietz started up when he bought out Walter Watson’s ham business has grown to be one of the country’s top privately owned deli processors. Dietz & Watson is turning 75 this year, and after all the growth and evolution the company has seen, it still prides itself on handcrafted, premium meats and cheeses.
Dietz & Watson produces a wide variety of deli meats, cheeses, franks and sausages — more than 300 items from its Philadelphia headquarters alone. The company is also the last Philadelphia manufacturer of scrapple, a regional specialty. Additionally, it produces chicken and turkey items from a plant in Baltimore, and it has a cheese-making facility in Corfu, N.Y. Its hot dogs, hams, roast beef products, turkey products, cheeses, etc. are distributed nationwide to retail customers, including supermarket chains, club stores, and independent retailers.