TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. — A popular Tarpon Springs Deli closed its doors earlier this week for the last time after more than three decades in business.
The Bread & Butter Gourmet Deli was known for its blend of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food.
What You Need To Know
The Bread & Butter Gourmet Deli, known for its blend of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food, closed its doors earlier this week for the last time after more than three decades in business
Nellie Abbas and her husband, Theo, opened the shop over 30 years ago
The couple will stay local, focusing on other priorities
The owners of Bread & Butter Gourmet Deli said they sold their building to a seafood restaurateur who plans to continue offering the deli’s most popular dish — baked turkey
If you look down nearly every street in Tarpon Springs, you’ll see history, from the buildings, to the streets, to the people.
Look south of downtown, you’ll see the Bread & Butter Gourmet Deli has its own history, between the customers and owners.
Nellie Abbas and her husband, Theo, opened the shop over 30 years ago. Pictures on the deli’s wall show the guests they’ve served over the decades.
“I’ve had children that were going to high school, they got married and they had children, and their children still come here,” Nellie said.
While Nellie cooks in the back, Theo greets customers at the front from a wheelchair.
Over 20 years ago, Theo nearly died from a brain injury after falling from the deli roof. He’s been physically disabled since.
“I only do mental. I cannot do anything physical,” he said.
“When he fell down and got hurt, a lot of the physical work and some of the mental work came on me,” said Nellie.
For years, they made it work. Theo running the admin side, and Nellie running the fast-paced environment of a deli.
But eventually, with time, things slowed down. Not just for Theo, but Nellie, too.
“We’re both feeling it,” said Nellie. “It was a lot of work here.”
And after 31 years, June will be the end.
By the end of this week, Bread and Butter Deli will be closed and the building will be sold off.
“We got too old for this. We cannot continue going on anymore,” said Theo to a customer.
For the past few weeks, Theo and Nellie have been breaking the news to customers. While others are enjoying one last meal (or meals).
The couple will stay local, focusing on other priorities.
“I have seven grandchildren, and then of course I have my husband, but he’s a handful,” Nellie said to a customer getting food.
Creating new memories, while holding onto old ones.
“I break down, I cry, my customers cry,” Nellie said. “We’re going to remember all of our customers. We’re going to remember them.”
Look down every aisle of the Bread & Butter Deli. You’ll see it in the fading menus, the dining hall tables, and the pictures on the wall: history.
The owners of Bread & Butter Gourmet Deli said they sold their building to a seafood restaurateur who plans to continue offering the deli’s most popular dish — baked turkey.