MONTGOMERY TWP. >> The legend of an iconic South Philly sandwich just got a little beefier.

“You have to wear many hats in this business.”

DiClaudio has had DiNic’s gravy in his blood since he was a little kid helping to craft the sandwiches at the original two locations, but it took a few decades for him to find his future tucked away in a nondescript little shop in Montgomeryville that was once the home of Lee’s Hoagie House.

“Friends have always been asking me when I was going to do this,” he said. “I put in my time, went to college, went into real estate … and I guess I always knew I would. The time was right; I found this location and they really wanted us here and gave us a really good deal.”

Since the name DiNic’s has long been synonymous with the city, DiClaudio said customers are invariably surprised to find a DiNic’s outpost in the suburbs.

“They’re amazed that I opened here. Every other person that walks through the door asks me why I chose Montgomeryville.”

One reason behind the decision is that he lives nearby in Chalfont.

“I wanted to be near my family,” said DiClaudio, who decided from the get-go that his take on the DiNic’s tradition would offer a bit more than pork and beef sandwiches.

To that end, the menu includes a club- or parmesan-style chicken cutlet sandwich ($8.20) and five kinds of hoagies — ranging from Gourmet Italian ($9.50) to Roast Turkey, and even a DiNic’s Roast Beef Hoagie ($8.50).

The fries are hand-cut and made fresh every day, as is everything that comes out of the freezer-less kitchen.

The shopping center is anchored by Outback Steakhouse, and DiClaudio is happy to use his well-known neighbor as a benchmark, GPS-wise as well.

“The easiest way I tell people to find me is to look for the Outback Steakhouse,” he said. “Even putting that into the GPS instead of the address (411 Doylestown Road) will bring you right here.”

DiNic’s Pork & Beef is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week. Phone: 267-649-7758.