New deli and coffee shop planned in Washington to fill void left by closing of Sunnyside Market
By Jay Ward Brown
With recipes, leases and supply orders swirling around him–at least figuratively speaking–Flint Hill resident Dan Manzo is in the throes of opening a new business: A deli in the Town of Washington that will replace, at least in part, the now-closed Sunnyside Market.
Manzo, a partner in the town’s Rush River Antiques, has never run a restaurant or food market before, but after years of being a customer at Sunnyside, he found the sudden absence of the market a big hole in the community, and one he is determined to fill.
“We won’t sell many groceries,” Manzo said, but his new deli will be open for breakfast, lunch and into the early evening, selling pastries, salads, soups, sandwiches to order, prepared meats and cheeses, pastas and similar fare. In time, he hopes to acquire a license to serve beer and wine, and to provide wireless internet service to customers.
“And we will have the very best coffee,” Manzo emphasized, saying he is on something of an odyssey to identify the perfect blend.
Manzo has signed a lease for space in the Clopton House, at the corner of Main and Middle Streets, which in the past has been home to other food markets and kitchens, and he has purchased equipment from the former Sunnyside Market. In addition, Manzo has leased part of the courtyard south of the Clopton House and plans to install benches and tables for outdoor dining in seasonable weather. An ice cream shop will occupy one of the outbuildings in the courtyard.
“I want it to be an inviting, comfortable gathering place,” Manzo said, adding that he hopes the courtyard will serve as something of a town center. He would have liked to have purchased the buildings that make up the former Sunnyside Market, Manzo noted, but was told they are not for sale.
Manzo, who grew up at the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail in Millinocket, Maine, has cooking in his blood. His Italian grandparents were bakers when they emigrated to the U.S., and “everybody in the family” learned to cook at home, he said.
While he plans to hire a staff of six, plus students to run the ice cream shop in the summer, Manzo says he will do most of the cooking himself, at least at the outset. He is experimenting with soup recipes now, and plans to survey county residents about what they would most like to have available at a deli. He invites members of the community to submit comments to him by email at danodeluccas@aol.com.
Manzo began visiting Rappahannock County some 25 years ago, when he visited a then-little known but already successful restaurant called the Inn at Little Washington. He “fell in love” with the county, and became a full-time resident just over three years ago. He plans to fully maintain his role in Rush River Antiques, but the task of birthing his new “baby” plainly is absorbing his energies just at the moment, as he moves from appointments with contractors to appointments with food suppliers and back to interview job applicants.
If all goes according to plan, “Dano DeLucca’s” – a name derived from a nickname one of his grandfathers gave to him – will open in Washington by April 1.
-- AdminComments
Comment from Wendy Weinberg
Time: January 31, 2007, 11:53 am
This is a most welcome developoment. It’s good to hear of the business-like way things seem to be taking place. That bodes well for the future. I’ve never sampled Dan’s cooking but have been told by many friends that the results are terrific. As things develop, perhaps Dano DeLucca’s will help to fill a big void for those coming to the Theatre (both for live performances and for films): where to go for a relaxed gathering before or after the program to discuss what one’s about to see/has just seen.
(But let’s not forget the Country Cafe which is an invaluable mainstay of the Town — reliable and warm and friendly, we couldn’t do without it!)
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