17 hours ago
Bread & Butter Gourmet Deli in Tarpon Springs closing after 30 years
The Brief
The Bread & Butter Gourmet Deli in Tarpon Springs is planning to close its doors after 30 years.
It is known for its turkey, falafel and array of soups, salads, and pastries.
The owners plan to sell the building to a seafood restaurateur.
TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. - A beloved Tarpon Springs deli is closing its doors after more than 30 years.
The Bread & Butter Gourmet Deli on Pinellas Ave is known for its turkey, falafel and array of soups, salads, and pastries.
It has created a unique fusion of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine.
The backstory
The story of the deli started in Youngstown, Ohio, where owners Theo and Nellie Abbas met.
Nellie said, "His best friend happened to be my brother's future brother-in-law. He brought me to a dance, a Greek dance. He met me there and that was it."
From there, the couple moved to the Big Apple to learn the ropes of cuisine.
"We had a deli in New York in Lincoln Center," Theo added, "One day I got up in the morning to go to work and it snowed. I had to clean four cars before mine. I said, 'forget about it. I'm leaving."
Fast-forward to the summer of 1994, the couple purchased an old bank in Tarpon Springs, which would become Bread & Butter.
"'94 I opened it. And the night before I opened it, Governor Lawton Charles came in here with 200 people. The next day, my line went all the way outside," he added, "I didn't think it was going to have an impact like that, so we didn't have enough food. We ran out of food."
These days, there's a similar turnout after the couple announced they are closing the deli by the end of June. Nellie said, "We've gotten flowers. We've gotten cards and last week we got bombarded, we've had so many customers."
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The couple said they came to a realization. She said, "I don't want to start crying, but I got to go. We got to go." With Theo now disabled, they said it's time to slow down. He said it stems from an accident more than 20 years ago, "I fell off the roof and I struck my head, and I had a brain stem injury. I was in a coma at Bayfront hospital for 13 days. They gave me a 1-percent chance to live." Nellie added, "We have four great-grandchildren now. 7 grandchildren, so it's time to relax."
What's next
The couple plans to sell the building to a seafood restaurateur. Theo said, "It breaks my heart that I have to leave. But all good things must come to an end."
Bread & Butter Gourmet Deli is located at 1880 Pinellas Ave, Tarpon Springs, FL 34689.
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The Source
Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Jennifer Kveglis.
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