How family and Philadelphia pride are part of Dietz & Watson's DNA

Nearly 90 years ago, Dietz and Watson started in Old City. Today, the company is headquartered in the Northeast, with the fourth generation helping run the family-owned business.

"We have probably 500 items," CEO Louis Eni said while showing CBS News Philadelphia around the large facility. "So if we're making a third of that a day, that's a busy day. Everything we do is minimally processed."

Philadelphia, Eni stresses, is truly and proudly a part of the company's DNA.

"Isn't that what Philadelphia is about? Pride? Right? Pride of what we're doing and I think that's part of why we stayed in Philadelphia," Eni said.

Gottlieb Dietz — Eni's grandfather — started the deli business in 1939.

"We have never deviated from my grandfather's formulas and/or his philosophy when he developed new items," Eni said.

Over its long and storied history, the company has grown to distribute hundreds of products, run multiple production facilities and expand nationwide.

"The thing that I think bridges the generations is that we're really dedicated to the reputation of the brand, maintaining that reputation," Lauren Eni Canseco, executive vice president of brand strategy, said.

She is Eni's daughter and also part of the fourth generation, helping continue the company's success.

"Our company's history is a lot like America's history," Eni Canseco said. "It's a story about an immigrant who came to this land for opportunity and, through hard work and partnership, he was able to make something lasting."

Ask Eni or Eni Canseco, and both will say a dedicated employee base plays a big part in making that happen.

"What I do is called wrap and pack," machine operator Walter Taylor said. "And it's two people. I work at one end."

Taylor has worked at Dietz and Watson for 18 years, and the North Philadelphia native has no plans on leaving any time soon.

"It's home. It's family," Taylor said with a smile, "and at the heartbeat of family, you got food."

Along with a strong employee base, food quality and food safety, the family stresses are core to what they do day in and day out.

Honey maple ham, hot dogs, bratwurst. You name it, it seems like Dietz and Watson distributes it.

"We take product home all the time," Eni said. "Our employees take product home."