New Valley Stream deli offers diverse menu

See more photos from the ribbon-cutting ceremony here.

All of the menu items at Amici Gourmet Deli, from French toast to quesadillas, reflect the cuisines of many different cultures. In fact, there is something for the taste buds of every customer, said co-owner Frank Ciaccio.

“Valley Stream has changed a lot,” Ciaccio said. “When we created the menu, even an Italian Deli, we had to realize we have mixed nationalities.”

It was important to bring a little bit of everything to the village, he added, including Italian tradition. Aside from the popular sandwiches and other deli favorites, the family-owned business at 258 Rockaway Parkway also features good, old-fashioned home cooking. You can find Ciaccio’s father making authentic Italian delicacies, just like your grandma, aunt or mother used to make in her kitchen.

Several visitors have already gotten a taste the deli’s opened on Sept. 10. Whenever opening a new business, it’s vital for it to be a place that Ciaccio would frequent himself, he said. Along with business partners Robert Carollo and his brother, Dominic Ciaccio, he wanted to open an affordable eatery that would be in the epicenter of the village’s north end.

“The way the business came about this way was I just didn’t feel Valley Stream had a nice, Italian, friendly, affordable, clean, gourmet deli,” Ciaccio said. He sold his former business, Valley Hut Convenience Store on Rockaway Avenue. The new deli sells affordable, $6 or $7 food items, to keep customers coming back for more, he explained.

Customers have been drawn to this neighborhood nook for several decades already. Previous delis have made a home there, becoming popular landmarks in the area, Ciaccio said. After all, it is a great location, near Franklin Hospital and the four Valley Stream District 13 schools, he added.

Shortly after signing the lease in July, construction began in August. For the Oct. 15 ribbon-cutting ceremony, there was $4,000 worth of food, and nine blocks of cars crowding the streets near the deli, Ciaccio said. Local officials and members of the Valley Stream Chamber of Commerce attended the event. The assembled dignitaries enjoyed pasta with salmon made by Ciaccio’s father. “The grand opening was phenomenal,” he said.