BY MICHELE MILLER
What’s What New Port Richey
There’s something to be said for being able to make the world a better place by simply doing that right where you are. Where you live. Where you work. In your community.
So is the way for Bob and Deb Morris, owners of the West Side Deli, a mom-and-pop neighborhood joint where serving up “Crazy Good Food for Crazy Good People” is the business motto and “Be the Light” a daily directive that’s written on a chalkboard easel sitting atop the display case next to the olive oil.
The West Side Deli, located at 6219 Massachusetts Avenue in New Port Richey, is an unassuming outpost. The best kind of comfy hole-in-the-wall to customers who understand the value of a good find.
There on weekdays between 10 and 3 the owners and longtime employee, Kim Koenig, tend to the lunchtime crowd in their getting-to-know-you fashion that includes a side of friendly banter while Bob’s wrapping up an ample sandwich you might not be able to finish, and Deb’s slicing cheesecake and asking about the kids, the grandkids. You.
Comfort. Food.
“Everything’s made fresh,” said Cody, their Boar’s Head delivery driver for 8 years who’s there to restock the deli case. “It’s not just the food. It’s the people. I think the people who come here also know that.”
The deli is strictly take-out and the phone starts ringing soon after they open, often after someone’s seen the Facebook post of the sandwich or soup of the day, or a pic of Bob’s cheesecake and homemade mac and cheese.
All the photos are accompanied by an inspirational quote that might make for a better day whether you stop by or not.
“That’s what happens. Within minutes of posting on line a customer is calling to order,” Bob said with a grin as Deb took a couple of call-in orders for the Cookies and Cream cheesecake.
“I spend a lot of time searching for the quote,” Deb said. “Something I think would be good for people to read. Something that resonates with me.”
(Full disclosure here – these photos & quotes are what prompted me to write a story for the Tampa Bay Times in April 2020. Social media helps push business to Pasco and Hernando restaurants hurting from coronavirus.)
The draw is undoubtedly the food and the healthy vibe, said regular, Angel Mally, who typically goes for the turkey, cheddar, and bacon sandwich, or “any of the salads.”
Customers have their favorites – some that are named after them when Bob or Deb decide that their hankering for a special combination is worthy of a spot on the rotating menu.
Among them – The Ken, The David, Fat Larry, and The Funcle named after long-time customer Mike Cabella, Deb said. “Because he’s a fun uncle.”
“The owners here have such a great heart for the community,” Angel said noting the donation tip jar on the counter that supports local nonprofits. “I love how they contribute to The Runaways (Animal Rescue Shelter). It feels like such a healthy place on both sides of the counter.”
Lona Morgan comes in every day.
“They make very healthy food and I can’t make it at home for what they charge,” she said. “They look after me. If I don’t come in they’ll call to check on me. She’ll bring me something to eat. They deserve all the good. They are the bright spot in my day.”
“I’m really sad they’re closing.”
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They’ve been rolling out the news to customers over the last couple of months. The lease is up. They’ve opted not to renew. The decision has been made to close the deli in December.
It’s time for the next chapter of a story that started about 36 years ago when Deb was tending bar and Bob was working the back of the house as a cook at The Boston Cooker in Oldsmar.
She was a native of Clearwater. He was a transplant from East Hanover, New Jersey who couldn’t get away from the snow fast enough.
Bob would go back to visit though, one time bringing Deb to one of his old hometown haunts, Angelo’s Deli.
“I fell in love with it,” Deb said. “Just the feel of it. It was a neighborhood place. The smell of it was awesome. The people were nice. The food was freshly made. The hustle and bustle. The whole feel of it.”
“When I came back to Florida and said, “That’s what I want to do.”
So they did.
Starting with a franchise bagel shop that slowly transitioned as they added salads and Boar’s Head deli meat to the menu.
They moved on, transitioning to the Warehouse Deli in a bigger location in an industrial park in Oldsmar which they ran from 1995-2001.
“We still have customers from there who come here,” Deb said. “That was a fun deli.”
Busy, too, Bob added. “There was a lot of road construction going on at the time so no one who worked in the park could leave the park for lunch so we were hammered.”
Later in 2001 they opened a new venture called The Cypress Grill, which earned them a write up in the local paper and a loyal following.
“We went non-smoking before you had to, brought in high-end beer and a great menu,” Deb said. “It’s so not rocket science and we won’t serve something we won’t eat.”
“We closed after happy hour,” Bob said. “Our customers were working-class people so they were ready to go home.”
Bob and Deb were the parents of three kids by then and the business was booming.
“It got so busy that it interfered with family,” Deb said. “So we sold it.”
Bob went to work selling and servicing optometry equipment as a biomedical engineer and in 2004 they moved the family to the Longleaf community in New Port Richey where the front porches were a draw. Deb became a stay-at-home mom.
“All my kids were in school. It was fantastic,” said Deb who volunteered at the Longleaf Elementary where her kids attended before landing a paid position as a paraprofessional.
Eight years later the company Bob worked for folded.
“We said to each other “What do You want to do?” Deb said. “Then we said, “Let’s go back to doing what know. What we love.”
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After searching for locations, Bob and Deb opened the initial location of the West Side Deli on Little Road, across from the West Pasco County Government Center.
They grew the business with the practice of offering wholesome food and a welcoming environment. Bob went door-to-door locally, dropping off fliers to promote the business.
And they quickly drew the attention of the local press, again. (Westside Deli provides healthy alternative for Pasco residents, Tampa Bay Times, 2013)
“We built up a reputation and then it really got good,” said Bob who worked so hard and so many hours that he didn’t have time for a haircut.
“You look like a rock-hopper penguin,” Deb told him one day of his messy do.
And that’s how West Side Willie came to be when an artist friend of Deb’s created a version fashioned after Bob. The deli mascot grew on people. Ended up with his own social media page that featured photos of a flattened version of West Side Willie on vacation with customers who packed him in their bags and heralded community events and happenings at other local restaurants.
“He’s kissed the Blarney Stone. Got arrested in Thailand. Been to the Tower of Pisa in Italy and all across the country,” Deb said.
During that time they forged friendships and connections with customers of all ages. Their support helped them manage through the pandemic. But a rent hike had them deciding to close the location in January of 2021.
They said goodbye with a party in a way that had everyone thinking it was the end.
“We went traveling. It was cold. We went back to Florida. There was nothing to do,” Bob said, about their decision to reopen in a new location on Massachusetts Ave. where the rent was doable even though it would only accommodate a take-out option.
And would be a golf cart ride away from their new home in the city of New Port Richey.
“We still had the (restaurant) equipment. We kept it quiet. Didn’t put our name on the door for six months.”
Even so, their customers found them – old and new.
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Look around while you’re waiting on an order and you’ll find any number of thoughts and sayings meant to lift a day.
Words of wisdom and kindness perched somewhere in the busy surroundings along with the thank you letters and drawings from local school kids, customer business cards and a lovely poem from the PACE School for Girls, one of the benefactors of the West Side Deli Tip Jar.
“I’m old school. I don’t believe you tip the owner,” Deb said. “Whatever comes in goes back into the community. I wanted to be of the community. To give back.”
If you feel inclined to stash some cash in the counter jar, they will be happy to pay it forward to organizations such as Oasis Pregnancy Center, Richey Elementary School, The Runaways Animal Rescue, and the PACE School for Girls which is located next to the West Side Deli’s former location on Little Road.
“We’ve been real blessed with our customers,” said Deb, noting that friendship and community is a reciprocal transaction.
So is food when regular Jay Lott shows up to drop off some barbecue ribs he cooked up for the owners to eat later on at home – some seasoned with his special rub and handed over with the request to “Let me know which one you like best.”.
Jay was searching for a new deli when he happened upon West Side.
“I came by here and I’ve been coming here ever since,” he said. “I ain’t never had a bad sandwich since I came here. Great people. The food is awesome and service always comes with a smile. That’s why I love them.”
The next chapter has yet to be written but there is a chance that there could be something new and a little different in the offing.
“Bob and I would like to have a place where people can eat in again and if that presents itself, well it might just happen,” Deb said, noting that one big drawback of the present location is that it is take-out only.
“We miss the people hanging out,” she said. “Because that’s the fun part of a deli.”
Get it while you can. The West Side Deli is located at 6219 Massachusetts Ave, New Port Richey. Telephone (727) 807-3330. Follow on Facebook here.
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