Enhancing the Tried and True

While menu favorites remain, the new owners of the Italian Deli and Market do plan to make their own imprint on the business.

Longtime Marco Island residents Tony Oliverio and Gary Van Cleef became owners of the Park Avenue restaurant and property on March 31, with their first day of operations of the restaurant on April 1. Their VO PARK, LLC purchased it from 902 Park LLC, owned by former Marco councilman Jared Grifoni and his father, James.

“People absolutely love the food, so I don't want to change any of the recipes or any of the staple dishes,” said Oliverio. “We're going to keep it the way it is and add to the menu.”

The Italian Deli and Market’s menu features sandwiches, pizza, calzones, dinners, salads, soups, appetizers, Italian groceries, a bar with full liquor, and more. The restaurant has also been known for offering live music daily.

Plans also include expanding the range of prepared foods found in the eatery’s deli cases.

The wine list and liquor offerings have been enhanced with higher-end selections. Oliverio credited that change to his twin brother Joe, who brings more than a decade of restaurant experience to operating the Italian Deli and Market.

Oliverio said, “The most significant change has been the change from the plastic eatery. Now you can drink liquor out of a glass and eat your entrée on a porcelain plate with metal cutlery.”

Oliverio said he’s become aware of some baseless speculation that’s been circulating regarding the restaurant’s future.

“I've heard so many rumors of us shutting down, or that we're turning it into this type of place or that type of place, and that is not the case. We are operating business as usual,” he said.

However, he added, temporary closures lasting from a few days to a week will be necessary sometime in the future for some cleaning, painting, repairs, and landscaping improvements.

Live entertainment has been restricted to Monday karaoke night, for now.

“I have to evaluate that situation,” said Oliverio. “The reason why we did that was I was getting a lot of feedback that people think it was too noisy of a restaurant when we had the entertainment. You couldn't hear each other talk and it was just too loud. So we stopped entertainment for now, and we're going to evaluate on what days we're going to bring it back in the future.”

Oliverio said he will not be running the day-to-day operations as he will continue to focus on his real estate business. His brother is operating the restaurant on a daily basis.

The Italian Deli and Market is located at 902 Park Ave. For more information, please visit marcoislanditaliandeli.com/ or call 239-394-9493.