Zella’s Deli comes home to Swannanoa
Authentic New York-style delicatessen brings classic flavors and speedy service east of asheville
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
March 15, 2024
Zella’s Deli, which opened in downtown Asheville in 2022, is relocating to Swannanoa next month. Zella’s will continue its current operation through March 23, before resuming in its new location in mid-April. Photo courtesy of Zella’s Deli
The sights, sounds and smells of a buzzing neighborhood delicatessen, where friends and neighbors gather amidst the scents of house-made cold cuts and locally baked bread, evoked a shared sense of nostalgia in the minds of restaurateurs John Tressler, Ivey Lamos and chef Michael Reppert, long before they brought the concept to downtown Asheville in 2022.
While the authenticity of Zella’s Deli has remained, the community it serves will change next month, as the traditional eatery relocates to its new home in Swannanoa.
Zella’s will end its Asheville operation, March 23, and reopen at 2372 U.S. 70 (the former Loott House) in mid-April. While the decision to leave its original location was difficult, according to Tressler, the move to Swannanoa feels a lot like a homecoming.
“We all have ties to East Asheville, Swannanoa or Black Mountain,” he said of the ownership group. “Our kids go to school in this district, and we sponsor youth sports teams in the Swannanoa Valley. So this part of town is really home to us.”
The search for a new location was prompted by plans to expand Imperial, which occupies the floor above Zella’s on College Street. The cocktail bar and mezcaleria will begin expanding into the lower level after the deli vacates its current home.
“I’ve lived in the Swannanoa Valley for 20 years, and I’ve always felt like we really need a place where the service is fast, affordable and feels like home,” Tressler said. “We really want to build a community atmosphere in a place where locals can come grab breakfast, lunch or dinner at a reasonable price.”
Classic offerings from Zella’s Deli, including the Mikey’s Meatball Sub, will be among the menu items featured when the eatery debuts in Swannanoa in April. Photo courtesy of Zella’s Deli
‘Food we grew up around’
Customers familiar with the menu at Zella’s will find those offerings, ranging from bagels and lox to “Johnny’s Italian” sub, classic pastrami on rye or baklava, in the Swannanoa location, while the dining experience will remain that of a traditional New York-style deli, according to Reppert.
“We all grew up in areas where family delis were everywhere, and in the mountains there are a lot of sandwich shops, but not many traditional delis,” he said. “If you come here and grab a breakfast sandwich on a Kaiser roll, once you bite into it you can recognize it as a flavor of New York. The same with an Italian (sandwich), which you can find in a lot of places, but ours is very true to the taste of what you would find in New York.”
Some menu items, like the liverwurst on white bread, are difficult to find in Western N.C., while Zella’s meatballs are like no other, the chef added.
“I worked really hard to preserve my grandfather’s meatball recipe, and the first day we opened in Asheville, my mom had a meatball sub and she looked me dead in the eyes and asked, ‘how did you make these taste like my father’s?’” Reppert said. “That was such a huge compliment to me, because getting that taste exactly right was something that took a lot of effort.”
Zella’s makes much of its meat, including roast beef, turkey and pastrami, in-house, he added. Quintessential New York offerings like the chop cheese sandwich, a staple in bodegas throughout the city, are featured on the menu, while dry aged capicola, prosciutto di parma can be purchased by the pound. The deli also offers cheeses, including smoked gouda, Muenster and provolone, through its market.
Most of the bread used by Zella’s is baked in-house, but the Kaiser and hoagie rolls come from New York. Serving customers “proper sandwiches” at a fair price will remain a priority in the new location, according to Tressler.
“A lot of people want to eat out, but a lot of the prices of high-quality food can make that difficult,” the co-owner said. “We’re going to introduce an under-$10 menu, which will have a robust selection of sandwiches. Our goal is to make Zella’s accessible to everyone.”
The eatery plans to introduce a new dinner menu to Swannanoa.
“We want to do simple and affordable dinners that are catered around families,” Tressler said.
An array of pastries and desserts will be prepared on-site, while the multi-layered Italian rainbow cookies come from the Big Apple.
“I sampled some of those before we started ordering them, and when I bit into these they tasted exactly like what I had been eating since I was 5,” Reppert said. “So, we put a lot of effort into keeping everything as authentic as possible, because we want our customers to experience the food we grew up around and enjoy it like we do.”
Zella’s Deli, which is relocating from downtown Asheville to Swannanoa from mid-March to mid-April, will introduce a dinner menu in its new location. Photo by Fred McCormick
Connecting community over casual dining
Things have changed a lot in Swannanoa since Lamos moved there a decade ago, but there is an air of excitement, following the recent announcement of the nearby Beacon Village development.
“I love Swannanoa, and I’m excited to be part of the growth that’s happening here,” she said. “In our current location, we’re in the center of downtown Asheville, but we’re in a spot where parking isn’t super convenient. Coming here, to a community we know so well in a convenient and accessible spot, we can appeal to locals and be a place where customers come in for a quick lunch or dinner with their family.”
The menu, pricing and quick service of a traditional deli are designed to appeal to the working crowd, according to Tressler. First responders and Buncombe County Schools teachers receive a 10% discount on purchases.
“We really want to establish a local community atmosphere in Swannanoa, where we know the regular crowd and they know each other,” he said. “Bringing Zella’s to this part of town is an exciting opportunity to be a hub for the people here.”
A fast and affordable deli feels like a perfect fit on the east side of the county, Tressler added.
“In a lot of ways, what we serve is comfort food to us,” he said. “Now, we have the chance to bring the food we love so much to the place that’s been our hometown for years.”
While Zella’s is opening a new chapter, the move aligns with the vision of establishing a high-quality local eatery that caters to the people in the neighborhood.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing friendly faces who come in on a Sunday and immediately recognize them as ‘our Sunday crowd,’” he said. “One of the things that makes a place special is its bond with the community, and we’re excited to create that here in Swannanoa.”