- November 23, 2024
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On Palm Coast’s Utility Drive, Colletti’s Italian Deli will celebrate its fourth year in business this summer.
Oil sizzles as Chris Colletti flips a batch of chicken cutlets in an oversized black skillet.
“We’ve survived because of our regulars,” he said, picking cutlets out of the oil and drying them on a pan. “We’re off the beaten path, but when (people) finally find us, they stay with us.”
Standing as Palm Coast’s only authentic Italian deli, Colletti’s specializes in homemade. Chris Colletti’s dad makes the meatballs. Chris makes the sausage, bread and mozzarella. The beef is roasted in-house and the eggplant is never frozen.
“And if we don’t make it, it’s coming in from either Italy … or New York/New Jersey,” he added.
But in order to succeed in this economy, and at their location, tucked away off Old Kings Road and Utility Drive, the Collettis have had to get creative.
They recently made a new menu and began offering gift certificates and rewards cards. And they host fundraiser meals and private receptions, which Colletti describes as “like coming over for dinner.” The party picks a menu, gets the entire shop reserved and is fed like family.
“We just feed them all night,” Colletti said, motioning his hand round and round like he’s serving dish after dish. “A five-course meal.”
The deli also caters, which has become 75% of its entire sales base.
For Colletti, the changes, as well as being established long enough for word-of-mouth to spread, has been the key to their growth.
Last December, the deli beat out its previous highest-grossing sales month by nearly triple. They recently doubled seating. And they’ve been in talks to expand.
“The day-to-day grind,” he said, opening a cooler to show off a leg of prized prosciutto. “We’re focused. When those doors open, you’re like our family. I mean, I kiss and hug three-quarters of our people, because that’s how close we are.”
Back home, in New York City, Colletti and his father each owned separate Italian restaurants, and his uncle owned a deli. After 9/11, though, downtown just wasn’t the same.
The family moved to Florida, and Colletti became a manager at Ruby Tuesday while working with Palm Coast to get his deli up and running.
Along with his parents, George and Theresa, Chris Colletti runs the store with Melanie Oates, who works the counter. Colletti’s brother, who still lives up north, is the accountant. And another cousin also helps from time to time.
“I grew up in an environment where you took care of the people who were loyal to you,” Colletti said. “If it wasn’t for family, (all of this) would be a lot harder.”
That helps to explain why all of the sandwiches in the shop are named after family, friends and regulars. Heritage means a lot to Chris Colletti — a fact that’s hammered in when he talks about his father’s meatballs, which he makes according to a recipe passed down from his Sicilian grandmother.
“Since birth,” he says, “I will not eat anybody else’s meatballs.”
For more, call 246-5122, or visit www.collettisdeli.com.
Email Mike Cavaliere at [email protected].
