21 April 18th-April 24th, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | moved into its current location on Scottsdale Road. “It was a stroke of luck,” Moran says. “Since then we’ve had a lot of growth.” Moran has been involved with the family business for as long as she can remember. “My first role was standing on a box near the cash register so I could reach to bag groceries. My kids did the same thing; on a box, bagging groceries,” she said. Moran’s daughters, Madeline and Alyssa, still work at the deli occasionally and other family members have been involved over the years. As for Jerry and Judy, who are now both 81 and semi-retired, “they like to keep their eye out, make sure it’s still the way they like things,” Moran says. More than an Italian deli DeFalco’s is the place to find shelled clams and unique Italian grocery items like imported provolones, sauces and Pasta De Cecco, one of the best dried pastas you can get shipped to Arizona, according to Moran. DeFalco’s imports all of the available De Cecco pasta cuts from Italy. “Some products you can only get on the coasts, it’s only as far as Italy will send them,” she says. For its signature sandwiches and tradi- tional dishes, DeFalco’s draws on a tome of family recipes passed down over 100 years. The pizza dough is made onsite daily as are the meatballs and sausage. Around lunchtime, steady streams of customers flood the deli, hungry for meat- ball subs, melty cheesesteaks and DeFalco’s best-selling Italian Combo, which includes ham, salami, pepperoni, mortadella and provolone. “We are one of their guilty pleasures,” Moran says. “Nobody is coming in here looking for green juice. They’re looking for carbs.” How DeFalco’s Deli continues tradition Running a successful restaurant in 2024 is like walking a tightrope above a shallow pool of sharks — it takes skill and the slightest change in conditions can plunge you into a tricky situation. “Of course, the restaurant industry is a difficult industry, of course the margins are very thin and narrow,” says Steve Chucri, President and CEO of the Arizona Restaurant Association. “If you don’t set yourself apart, then you’re going to find yourself, as we say in this business, you make sure you have a seat at the table or else you’ll end up on the plate,” he says. Moran recalls relocating the deli, on two separate occasions, with little notice was among the hardest challenges DeFalco’s has faced. And then there was the pandemic. “COVID brought its own set of chal- lenges,” Moran says. “We were set up for takeout, the grocery part probably helped during COVID as well... grocery stores would be out of pasta, but we had pasta.” Moran also gives credit to DeFalco’s employees. “We have five people who have been with us for over 20 years and another eight or so that have been with us for over 10 years,” Moran says. “Our staff is our backbone.” Just like its classic Italian Combo, DeFalco’s Deli doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, anytime soon. “We have people who I knew as a kid whose kids are coming in,” Moran says. “I hope in the next 10 years we will have the next generation of those families coming in.” DeFalco’s Deli 2334 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale A Decades-Long Legacy from p 19 Jerry DeFalco proudly displaying a large sub outside the original location at The Wagon Wheel Shopping Center in Phoenix. (Photo by Andrea Moran) “YOU MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A SEAT AT THE TABLE OR ELSE YOU’LL END UP ON THE PLATE.”
