STELLA’S DELI AND GELATO FINALLY OPEN!

Stella's Deli and Gelato in Gulfport, FL

After over five months of wading through the ins and outs of Gulfport’s Zoning Regulations and building a brand new store, Stella’s Deli and Gelato is finally open for business.  The sparkling clean, new deli offers all the traditional deli meats, (featuring Thumann’s famous products), homemade salads, New York Style Potato knish, Perogies and Italian Gelato.

I had a wonderful hot pastrami sandwich, (real pastrami), on marble rye nicely grilled in butter just like my mama never made, (she was from Nova Scotia where pastrami didn’t happen).  But, enough about the food.  We’ll do a full review after things settle in.  One thing must be said, though.  They started out right with high quality, well prepared food not with a lot of fancy decorations.  Decorations and menu development can come later.

Open at 7:00 AM every day except Monday they do a full scale breakfast which may be consumed inside, outside at a sidewalk table or somewhere else as take-out.  Prices are quite affordable.  For example, two eggs and buttered toast with bacon, sausage ham, hash browns or home fries goes for $3.75.  A three egg Western omelet with buttered toast and hash browns sells for $4.75.  Two buttermilk pancakes with an egg is on the menu for $3.50.  Hearty eaters can go for a big breakfast burrito or lox and bagel with cream cheese.

Lunch, served until 3:00 PM on Tuesdays through Thursday and until 5:00 PM on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays features a variety of cold and hot deli sandwiches ranging in price from $2.50 for a “N.Y. pushcart style” hot dog, (with a choice of kraut or cooked onions), to $6.50 for “Joe’s Italian Sub” with Salami, Capicola, Prosciutto, Provilone, Pepperoni, roasted peppers, lettuce, tomato and Italian Dressing, (whew).

Look on the sandwich board. (pun intended), as you pass by for early bird and luncheon specials.

Gelato is part of the name of the place and provides a great dessert or refreshing treat at any time of day, especially while sitting out at a table watching the boats in the bay and the folks passing by.  If you’re unfamiliar with Gelato, its time to get familiar.  Gelato is the Italian word for ice cream.  It is an old country tradition made of natural ingredients from wholesome milk to fresh fruits to the best selection of nuts and dried fruits.  Gelato contains far less fat than American ice cream.   

All of the shops and restaurants in Downtown Gulfport are individually or family run, but Stellas owner/operators give “family” real meaning.  Joanne, (mom) and Barbara, (daughter) Banno along with Theresa, (mom) and Jeanne, (daughter) Kunkle have put their hearts and souls into getting this new deli open and appear to have the same commitment to make Stellas an outstanding addition to our burgeoning “restaurant row.”  They are charming people whose personalities add a lot to the ambience of the place.  We wish them well and hope their dream is fulfilled.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 10th, 2009 at 7:52 am and is filed under 12-09. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.