North End Deli offers new lunch options
by JESSICA L. FINCH Associate Editor

plaza. Photo by Jim Smerecak Purchase color photos at www.BeeNews.com

Friends since they were 5 years old, Kevin O'Leary and Mike Marcella recently became business partners.

On April 27, the duo opened North End Deli and Catering at 7900 Transit Road, in the Premier Liquor Plaza.

Marcella said, plainly and simply, that he loves food. An experienced cook, he also spent years working in fish markets.

The deli offers a variety of sandwiches, salads, soups and chowders.

"We wanted to make 'fat guy' sandwiches. You are paying for what you get," Marcella said.

The deli boasts 4-inch-thick sandwiches, including the customers' current favorite, the Turkey Gobbler.

"It's a Thanksgiving dinner in a sandwich," O'Leary said.

The sandwich includes all-white turkey breast from a turkey roasted at the deli, stuffing and cranberry sauce. Other speciality sandwiches include the North Enda, South Enda and The Sal, each piled high with meats, vegetables and cheese.

Located in a busy Transit Road plaza, North End Deli offers an alternative lunch option to the many businesses around the area.

"You get sick of the same old food. A good sandwich is an alternative to pizza and fast food," O'Leary said, adding that a lot of people who stop in comment that there was a need for a deli in that area.

Natives of Boston, Mass., the owners moved to Buffalo in the '90s after both married Western New Yorkers, women who also were best friends from their youth - Donna O'Leary and Marcella's former wife, Jean.

Wanting to "be their own bosses," O'Leary and Marcella looked for the optimal place to open their deli. They found a suite at 7900 Transit Road that already had the cooler cases for the deli meat.

They bought the equipment and soon set up shop at the location.

Sit-down and takeout are available. The deli also offers "drop-off dinners," delivering to homes for a family or small dinner party at a $25 minimum. Catering for corporate meetings, graduations, showers, weddings, rehearsal dinners and other events is also available.

Those choosing to dine in during their lunch or dinner break can watch a "comedy show." Instead of showing a news station on the deli's TVs, the owners purchased classic comedy flicks, such as "Ghostbusters," and show them throughout the day.

"We had someone come in, sat down and watched a whole movie one day," Marcella said with a laugh.

A little bit of Boston heritage shows in the deli's New England clam chowder and lobster bisque.

"It's the best; he knows to add extra clams and lobster," O'Leary said about Marcella's chowders.

Marcella said the "best of the best" is their motto, offering fresh ingredients for the best sandwich.

North End Deli is open from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

For information, call 632-7900.