EAST SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — A popular place to line up for ice cream in the summer and grab a best-selling turkey-and-stuff-sandwich year-round. After 45 years, the Village Deli in East Syracuse is closing up shop.
Serving up sandwiches and smiles for 45 years, The Village Deli is a slice of comfort in the heart of East Syracuse.
“Every day I see people that have turned out to be friends of mine, and now I may never see them again, it’s hard,” says Wayne Cunningham, owner of The Village Deli.
Hard, because Cunningham is closing up his shop for good.
“I’m almost 77-years-old, and you reach a point in your life where you just, you know, you decide you’ve got to start taking it easy, and that’s what happened to me, you know I was just getting tired,” says Cunningham.
Cunningham got his start right down the road at Leo’s Big M Supermarket. After leaving Leo’s, Cunningham took a job cutting meat at Wegmans. He says he wanted to make more money, which led him to open up The Village Deli part-time.
“It kept on growing and growing until I got to the point where I couldn’t handle Wegmans and the deli. So I decided I would come in here full-time,” says Cunningham.
Not knowing his recipe would turn out to be a key ingredient missing in the village, a place where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.
Milt Hill, a long-time customer, says he has been going to The Village Deli for 40 years. He says it’s the good food and the people that keep him coming back for more. On Thursday, he got his last sandwich, wishing Cunningham the best of luck.
“We’ll miss it. I mean, I love coming here, but I also think 45 years, you know, move on. You get to have a next chapter,” says Hill.
Another long-time customer that will miss the deli is Anne Moore. She’s been going there for 15 years.
“It’s sad, but it’s exciting for them as well. It’s a new chapter,” says Moore.
Moore, who works at East Syracuse Elementary, says her co-workers have been going to The Village Deli for decades.
Cunningham says business has been great, and he is going to miss it, adding that there have been several orders since announcing the closure.
“I’ve had a ton of customers come in the last few days wishing me well and telling me they’re going to miss The Village Deli. I mean, it really has been a staple in the village for a lot of years, because you know in the summertime people come down here to get sandwiches and salads, and then they have ice cream out here, so it’s been a good run,” says Cunningham.
The Village Deli will be open one last time on Friday, January 27th, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
As for what’s next, Cunningham says the new owner plans to open a Mexican Restaurant. No word on an exact date.