J. Michael Huston will admit he’s done a little bit of everything in his professional career. In the past he’s worked as a steel mill fabricator and a hairstylist in a barbershop. And now he owns a successful deli restaurant chain while dabbling in commercial real estate.

Hutson, president and co-owner of the locally based J. Michael’s Philly Deli chain, is no stranger to hard work. 

Next year, Hutson and his business partner will celebrate J. Michael’s Philly Deli’s 35th year in business.

J. Michael’s operates three restaurants in the area – in Wilmington, Porters Neck and Myrtle Grove – with some employees who have

been a part of the business since it opened in 1979.

Hutson, 62, who is also a partner and commercial broker with Wilmington-based Carolina Commercial Investment Properties, said J. Michael’s plans to maintain its locations but would like to open additional ones in downtown Wilmington, Jacksonville and Charleston.

“You don’t want to overextend your reach,” Hutson said. “I think our success has been maintaining what we have and growing slowly to areas that are for sure going to grow.”

A native of Charleston, S.C., Hutson moved to Philadelphia in his early 20s.

With the city’s gruff exterior and diversity of people and cultures, Hutson enjoyed his time in Philadelphia.

He also loved the food, particularly the city’s most famous dish: the Philly cheesesteak.

“I worked in a barbershop next door to a meat deli that was owned by a Sicilian,” Hutson said. “I worked there, too, where I would clean the floors and help cut the meats. As a kind of a tradeoff, he would show me what meats could be paired with certain dishes and how to prepare the certain dishes.”

Hutson was hooked and immediately got the restaurateur bug to start his own eatery.

But starting a new restaurant that specialized in Philly cheesesteaks and other eats native to Philadelphia was going to be a tough sell – especially from a guy born and raised in South Carolina. 

The plan: move back to the South.

Realizing that the goal of owning a restaurant was within reach, Hutson contacted his friend and the business’ current secretary/treasurer and co-owner Lou Nieper, 64, about opening an eatery.

After traveling across the country as a chemical engineer, Nieper agreed to sign on to the operation.

“I thought it was a good idea, and I supported the decision,” Nieper said. “At the time there were no cheesesteak restaurants down there [in the South], and if we were going to do this, it made sense to open a restaurant in a place that did not have a concentration of cheesesteak joints.”

As the pair thought about spots to establish their new eatery, Wilmington was never on the radar, Hutson and Nieper said.

“I thought about starting the restaurant back home in Charleston or someplace in Florida,” Hutson said.

But that all changed during a trip to Wilmington in 1978 when Hutson was introduced to local restaurant legend and former King Neptune owner B.C. Hedgepeth and his wife, Sarah. He also met with other Wilmington businessmen, including Buddy Neuwirth, founder of Neuwirth Motors, and Harold Green, who operated a number of hotels in the city including the former Green Tree Inn on Market Street.

Hutson was sold, and with the help of Green to make the necessary connections, would later close on a unit in the Hanover Center – the oldest shopping center in Wilmington. But it was a move Nieper was concerned about.

“At the time, they were building Independence Mall across the street, and you had a lot of retail moving out of the center and into the mall,” Nieper said. “I was worried that there would be no one in the shopping center, that everyone would move to the mall.”

But Hutson knew better.

“When they pulled out of that mall parking lot, we picked a unit in Hanover Center where they could see our business,” Hutson said. “It worked out.”

For next few years, Hutson and Nieper worked diligently to grow their business by wearing multiple hats in the operation.

From short order cook and janitor to balancing the books and cutting checks, the duo was cautious about not stretching their finances too thin.

Nieper said it’s important that new businesses, particularly independent restaurants, have enough start-up capital to survive and thrive.

“When we started, all we had was a $10,000 loan for some used equipment,” he said. “There were many times that we never felt comfortable taking pay from the business because we wanted to be careful.”

Hutson said staying consistent and reaching all customer income levels also was important.

“We wanted this to be a place for everybody,” Hutson said. “When we started the restaurant in Hanover Center our goal was to price the food at a rate that didn’t break the bank. But it could also be a place where you could enjoy a cold brew, and your wife could have a nice glass of wine.”

Hutson said while there are many goals ahead for him and his career, maintaining good relationships, his family and business are tops.

“We have been in business for 35 years, and that’s a long time,” Hutson said. “I love this community, and we plan to be here for the long haul.”