Ranelli's Deli
Ranelli's Deli and Café is an Italian deli located in a former gas station at 1225 20th Street South near 5 Points South in Birmingham. The restaurant is famous for its "Richman's Po-Boy" sandwich, while the café specials include "spaghetti day" on Tuesdays and "lasagna day" on Thursdays, with free second helpings. The restaurant is currently owned by Rick and Sarah Ranelli.
Before opening the deli, Sam and Sara Ranelli operated a neighborhood grocery store. Sara prepared foods for a cart at the 1968 Birmingham Festival of Arts Salute to Italy and the positive reception gave them the idea that a restaurant could be successful. They opened the original deli location at Five Points in 1971.
The Richman's Po-Boy is made with sliced ham, corned beef, peppered beef, Genoa salami, pastrami, Swiss cheese, provolone and a house-made olive salad served on Italian bread shipped from the J.J. Cassone Bakery in New York, New York. In 2012 it was named one of the "100 Dishes To Eat in Alabama Before You Die" as part of the Alabama Tourism Department's promotion for the "Year of Alabama Food."
In 1983, Ranelli's also had a Five Points West location at 2142 Warrior Road and another location in Century Plaza. Ranelli's No. 4 was located at Park South Place in Vestavia Hills. A total of seven locations were open during that decade, including stores in Chattanooga, Tennessee and Fort Walton Beach, Florida. After a few years, though, the family realized that it was overextended and scaled back to the single, original location.
In 2008 Rick Ranelli added a "Soul Pit" stage to the restaurant's dining room, which is occasionally used for live music, most frequently with the Magic City Blues Society.
References
- Angell, Glory Clark (1983) Birmingham Inside Out. Birmingham, self published.
- Carlton, Bob (October 2, 2012) "Year of Alabama Food: Ranelli's Deli, Birmingham." The Birmingham News
External link
- Ranelli's Deli & Cafe website
- Ranelli's Deli on MySpace.com