My Family’s Deli in Orange Magazine

I talk a lot about my background working in my family’s Italian imports store in Middletown, NY (Orange County). My uncle, Giovanni, and my father, Domenick, brought the Bensonhurst-style Italian Pork Store to Middletown back in 1988, 25 years ago.

I was a 9 year old kid, but I remember being there for the grand opening. I worked there through my teenage years and even through college, when I decided to move my career away from food and focus on the sciences.

Whenever I go back to visit, although little things have changed over the years, it still feels like it did 25 years ago. That type of history and tradition is difficult to preserve, as a recent article (see links below) explains. They’re still making sausage, sopresatta, capicolo, fresh mozzarella, and various other things the same way they did 25 years ago. They carry a plethora of unique specialty imports that still haven’t permeated their way into the common supermarkets of the area.

Orange Magazine, a print and online publication that mainly focuses on lifestyle in Orange County, recently published an article featuring the deli, “Famous Deli-Licious Italian Pork Store,” with some comments and even recipes from dad and uncle John.

You can read a Flash version of the article (pages 69-72) here.

To say I’m proud of my dad and uncle for making it through 25 years in that location is an understatement.