LEAVE HUMDRUM, TAKE THEIR CANNOLI.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
Lou Cavaretta would have been proud of what the kid's done with his place, John Genna says. "In all respect to Lou's memory - and I loved the guy - the store's in better shape now than when Lou had it," said Genna, who bought his first meatball sandwich from Cavaretta's Italian Deli & Grocery Store back in 1959, shortly after Lou moved out from Boston to set up shop in Canoga Park. Lou's gone now, but the classic Italian deli he opened on Sherman Way still carries his name. Deciding to retire in 1983, Lou sold the deli to Paul Nunneri - a sharp kid he had hired two years earlier to sweep floors and work behind the counter at lunchtime, slicing salami and provolone pro·vo·lo·ne n. A hard, usually smoked Italian cheese. [Italian, augmentative of provola, a kind of cheese.] for sandwiches. Lou's pal, Genna, wanted to buy the place himself, but Lou didn't take him seriously. Looking back, Genna said, maybe Lou saw something in the kid he saw in himself. A respect for family, good food and the people who come in to shop in your store - putting food on your own table. "Lou was right," Genna says of his friend who retired to Palm Springs and passed away in 2004. "The kid calls me Uncle John and treats all his customers with respect and a smile, which is important, especially today, when people just don't seem to care about each other like they used to." In 1985, Paul brought in his Jewish pal, David Weisberg, as a partner in the deli on one condition: They wouldn't change a thing. "He always wanted his deli to be like a big Italian family home - warm and fun," Paul said. And it still has the feel of a home, not a store. When I walked in just before lunchtime last Friday, Dean Martin was singing "That's Amore," over the loudspeakers, and Marlys Nunneri, Paul's mom (1) (Messaging-Oriented Middleware) See messaging middleware. (2) (Microsoft Operations Manager) Software that monitors and captures system and application events throughout the network. , was in the kitchen making a fresh tray See tray drive, tray card and System Tray. of cannoli. Longtime long·time adj. Having existed or persisted for a long time: a longtime friend; a longtime resident of Detroit. longtime Adjective customer Don Walker gave her a smile and wave as he walked by two walls covered with snapshots of regular customers. He was on his way to the deli counter for his standing Friday order of mild sausage sausage, food consisting of finely chopped meat mixed with seasonings and, often, other ingredients, all encased in a thin membrane. Although sausages were made by the ancient Greeks and Romans, they were usually plain and unspiced; in the Middle Ages people began to , lasagna and marinara ma·ri·na·ra adj. Being or served with a sauce of tomatoes, onions, garlic, and spices: spaghetti marinara. n. Marinara sauce. sauce - the best in town, he swears. "From the time you park your car, you're part of Cavaretta's," Walker says. "The aromas Aromas may refer to:
adj. 1. Impossible to resist: an irresistible impulse to sneeze. 2. Having an overpowering appeal: irresistible beauty. ." Diane Castello, who's been shopping at Cavaretta's for 38 years, agrees. "At lunchtime, you take a number, and there can be 30 people ahead of you - white-collar, blue-collar, grandmas and grandpas, it doesn't matter. No one complains about having to wait as they grab a Yoo-hoo chocolate drink or other things they ate and drank when they were kids in the 1940s and 1950s," she said. "It still has a warm feel to it, with friendly people and great food. Just the way Lou left it." Paul and David smile when you tell them what their customers are saying. It doesn't surprise them, but it does reinforce what Lou always said: Give people good food at a fair price. Learn and remember their names. Make them feel at home. Do that and people will stand in line for 30 minutes for an Italian sandwich at lunchtime - walking out smiling, not grumbling. "A lot of people tell us they're not just taking home our food, they're taking home the memories of this place," David said. "Grown men and women come in today with their own kids, telling them about shopping here with their own parents when they were little." How the man behind the counter named Lou always gave them a big smile and free Italian cookie cookie File or part of a file put on a Web user's hard disk by a Web site. Cookies are used to store registration data, to make it possible to customize information for visitors to a Web site, to target Web advertising, and to keep track of the products a user wishes to . Just like now. Yeah, Lou would be proud of what the kid's done with his old place. dennis.mccarthy(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3749 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Paul Nunneri, left, his mother Marlys Nunneri, and David Weisberg in Cavaretta's Italian Deli, which has been on Sherman Way for 47 years. Paul and David are the owners. Marlys is holding a tray of cannellonis. Michael Owen
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