Hello Deli: Main Street to be Home for City's Newest Eatery "Della's Deli"
By Jeff Toquinto on April 20, 2014 via Connect-Bridgeport.com
While a grocery store isn’t opening in the downtown area anytime soon, there’s some pretty good news on the deli and convenience front. In mid- to late-May, Della’s Deli will be opening on Main Street, and it’s opening in a pretty familiar location and being operated by a 
pretty familiar Bridgeport name.
pretty familiar Bridgeport name.
The new business will be located at 230 East Main Street. That location is more commonly known as Hadorn Distributing Company meat and cheese wholesale, operated by Jeff Perine and founded by Bill and Shirley Hadorn.
Perine will oversee deli operations, with his son Jeffrey serving as chief cook and co-operator.
While the business will be new, the idea isn’t.
“I’ve thought about it for a long time. In fact, my in-laws (Bill and Shirley) thought about it when they ran the business. But like them several years ago, I didn’t want to open a retail deli that would compete with any of my customers, especially Food Fresh, which was a good customer for several years,” said Jeff Perine. “Once it was announced they were closing, I had no customers in the immediate area that it would affect.”
For Jeffrey Perine II, running a shop is coming full circle. He started in the food business as a dishwasher at Via Veneto while in high school; working his way up there and really finding out he had a passion for cooking while taking classes at United Technical Center.
“For a long time, I’ve thought about someday opening a restaurant. Lately, that idea has shifted more to a sandwich shop/lunch stand,” said Jeffrey. “When Dad mentioned that we should open a deli, it seemed like a really good idea."
The younger Perine took two full years of culinary training at Fairmont State University’s Pierpont Community & Technical College and several semesters of business classes. Despite his young age, he also had learned from the school of hard knocks.
He has done catering at Via's - as well as made-to-order appetizers and dinners for the upstairs bar - The Veranda. On top of that, he’s been working with his dad Jeff at Hadorn Distributing.
“He has taught me a lot about that end of the business,” he said. “Together, I think we have plenty of experience and knowledge about all aspects of the business.”
Once the decision was made to open the deli, the family spent time trying to come up with the proper name - and discovered the right one was sitting right in their laps.
“Della’s Deli” is named after Jeff Perine's granddaughter and Jeffrey Perine’s niece Della.
“Jeffrey mentioned it and we all thought it was perfect," said her Mimi Julie Perine - who will also be directly involved with the new business.
Della has a wide range of interests - from helping in the kitchen and playing princess to riding dirt bikes and taking care of her chickens and ducks. She has an outgoing personality and quite an imagination. She is excited to serve as deli hostess and she is already practicing for her TV commercials, her Uncle Jeffrey said.
Eventually, he would like to name a sandwich after his three-and-a-half year-old niece. They are working together on that.
So what can you get at Della’s Deli?
As expected, it will carry a full deli line of lunch meats and cheeses sliced to order by the pound. Just a few of the many meat choices available are smoked turkey breast, honey ham, roast beef and jalapeno loaf with cheese varieties including longhorn, American, brick, mozzarella and hot pepper. The deli will also stock pepperoni, salami and additional Italian specialties, including capicola, fontinella, provolone and many other cheeses.
The good news is that there are more than just meats and cheeses. Customers can get an array of salads from ham and chicken salad to macaroni and potato salad. There will be other specialty items, including fresh-baked pepperoni rolls baked by the younger Perine. And for those wanting hot dogs, the deli will have that with homemade chili and other convenient items to take home for lunch, dinner or snacking. There will also be fresh in-season fruits and vegetables supplied by Goots Produce.
The new business will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday with varying hours Saturday. The business will be closed Sunday.
“Opening Della’s Deli fills a longtime goal for us and it fills a need here in Bridgeport,” said Jeff Perine. “It’s a win-win, for sure.”
The Perines' other kids are Deanna (and Gary Garrett), Brittany (and Andrew, parents of Della) and Jacob. They'll likely be making a few sandwiches, too.
Editor's Note: If you enjoyed this, take a read of this week's sports blog by clicking HERE.
