Emma & Pete Spinelli

Well, as the story goes, when Em's opened, a gang of boys would come to the lunch counter, buy a soda, and eat packed lunches they brought from home. That gave Pete and Emma the idea to make and sell sandwiches at the store.

Pete began buying 12-inch Italian buns from the nearby Ferndale Bakery, and Emma added their

own special sliced deli meat, cheese, fresh vegetables, and to top it off, she developed a special dressing. And so the Em’s Submarine Sandwich was born.

It quickly became a Johnstown favorite, and kept Pete and Emma going strong, until finally the time came to retire. The couple simply closed Em’s Subs and sold their Roxbury building.

You can't keep a good sub down.

But you can’t keep a good sub down. Soon the Spinelli’s son, Ron, with his wife, Sharyn, moved back to Johnstown from Pittsburgh and opened a new Em’s in the Kernville section of Johnstown. This generation of Em’s Subs proved as popular (and totally delicious) as the first Em’s and soon there were two new Em’s

Sub Shops in the Richland and Westmont areas of Johnstown.

Then tragedy struck and Ron Spinelli found himself battling MS. He and Sharyn continued to run the business and raise their family, but after Ron passed away, Sharyn Spinelli decided to sell Em’s.

Bill & Melanie make things new again.

Enter Bill and Melanie Beckner, who today have put heart and soul into making Em’s Subs better than ever. Melanie, a new “M”,  now bakes all the rolls for their famous subs in-house to insure the absolute freshest taste.

The Beckners have improved the bakery, expanded choices for catering and party trays, and added paninis and wraps and lots

more choices to the classic Em’s menu. They’ve also expanded to a new shop in Somerset and a very convenient and spacious Main Street location in Johnstown. The best keeps getting better.

Bill and Melanie invite you to stop in and enjoy the many delicious choices at Em’s Original Subs.