Clarissa Kell | Daily Press Mary Richards is embraced by her neighbor, Regina Carpenter, and sister-in-law, Sue Vorac, as she explains how much her family and friends helped her and her husband make Delta Deli a reality. The Delta Deli is a new business at 824 Delta Ave. in Gladstone.

GLADSTONE — With the help of family and friends, Steve and Mary Richards opened a new business on Delta Avenue in Gladstone this month called Delta Deli.

The idea of opening a restaurant at 824 Delta Ave. came about through Steve and Mary’s retirement and Mary’s love of the building nestled on the corner of Delta Avenue and 8th Street.

“It started in December 2017, when I retired on the 31st and my husband retired in January 2018. I became very bored — because I’ve worked, you know. I’ve worked for 45 years — never been laid off, never been without a job. I was still getting up at 4:30 in the morning without an alarm. I’ve always loved to bake, I’ve always loved to cook and my husband is a wonderful supportive man,” Mary Richards said.

Through the support of family and friends, the idea for the deli became a reality.

“My windows — I found the patterns, blew them up to size and my grandchildren did all the painting and artwork,” she said. “I sewed my own curtains. My husband did all of the construction work — as far as putting in all of the deli kitchen here in the front and went through the building front to back fixing and repairing, painting and cleaning. Then his sisters got involved and helped me with decorating the front of the windows. It just became a family thing, you know — and its turned out great.”

The traditional “deli” that comes to mind is a front display case of cold cut meats, but there is so much more to the Delta Deli than a sandwich shop. There are soups and chili, breakfast options, pizzas, salads, muffins, other baked goods and of course a wide selection of sandwiches.

“Our sandwich selections come from research that I did in the planning stages of the old traditional sandwiches,” Richards said. “Like if you were to go to New York you’re going to be able to find a pastrami with coleslaw on it anywhere because that’s from New York. The Cubano sandwich — you go anywhere in the Keys in Florida or to Cuba and its on every street corner. We tried to bring some flavors and the old American standbys into the picture.”

Getting quality ingredients for the food is something Delta Deli strives for. Richards said they make six of the breads on the menu with the cranberry walnut bread being a real crowd favorite — especially the turkey and cranberry sandwich that features the homemade bread.

Richards mentioned how the workers at First Federal Credit Union and the workers at Marble Arms in Gladstone were all her taste testers as she experimented with different muffin recipes for the menu.

“There has been a lot of people involved in this coming about,” she said. “Good people.”

Since the opening of the deli, Richards said the community has been very supportive of the new business. She explained how patient and understanding customers have been due to the deli being so new the staff is still getting trained.

Richards said she has a lot of ideas for the deli that haven’t been implemented yet. She explained one of her goals for the future is to have one good hot entree each day to make sure the elderly people in the area have options and to give Gladstone workers with shorter lunch breaks a place to get a hot meal.

“We are doing the best we can to serve people the right way with good, wholesome, healthy food,” Richards said.

Another goal of hers is to feature and publish recipes each month from a 1915 or 1918 era Gladstone Women’s Cookbook that she had gotten from her mother, who had gotten it from her mother. The book has a culmination of recipes from families in Gladstone, some of which are still in the area. She said she wants to feature and publish a new recipe to give that family the credit for the recipe.

There are a lot of new ideas for the Delta Deli and its only been a little over two weeks since its opened.

“We’re having fun cooking and baking,” Richards said. “My goal is to make this place bright and cheerful, clean and very welcoming.”

The Delta Deli is open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and open on Sunday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.