More than a Deli
PHOTOS BY JORDAN RANDALL
When Ken DeBellis and his son, Sam, opened Uncle Nick’s Italian Deli in Lakeland in 2015, they brought more than sandwiches to town. They brought with them a family tradition that began with Ken’s uncle, Nick DeBellis, and a Bronx deli where Ken started working as a teenager.
After years in New York and experience running multiple deli locations, Ken and his family eventually made their way to Florida. Uncle Nick’s became their chance to build something of their own, and more than a decade later, that little deli has grown into something much more substantial.
These days, there’s a lot going on under the Uncle Nick’s roof.
The newest addition is an expanded deli and meat department. “We always wanted to expand but didn’t have the space. When the space became available we jumped at the opportunity,” Ken said.
The expansion builds on Uncle Nick’s Boar’s Head deli and provision offerings while bringing in a high-end Italian imported provision line from Rovagnati. Customers can now find higher quality prosciutto, mortadella, porchetta and prosciutto cotto alongside Certified Angus Beef products, including boneless ribeye, New York strip, tenderloin, tomahawk ribeye and burgers. There’s also pork and seafood, including lobster tails
and shrimp.
And apparently, Lakeland was ready for it.
“The response has been better than expected,” Ken said. “We are pleasantly surprised at all the interest in the items.”
The expanded department isn’t just about raw ingredients, either. Uncle Nick’s has added to its lineup of prepared foods, too, with salads, rice balls (arancini), potato knish, breaded chicken and eggplant cutlets and more.
Getting all of this under one roof required a little rearranging. To make room for the deli, the bakery moved into a newly built-out space that is now twice the size of its previous footprint. A new rack oven, walk-in cooler, sinks, prep tables and other additions have given the bakery some much-needed breathing room, too.
And breathing room is something Ken is particularly excited about.
“More space…it was very tight over the years for customers and employees,” he said. “It was a struggle but we finally have some elbow room.”
That elbow room represents a much bigger shift in the way Ken and Sam think about Uncle Nick’s.
The original plan was actually to franchise. The family opened four stores in three years, but eventually realized that having multiple locations wasn’t where they wanted to take the business.
“Multiple locations is very challenging. We’d rather keep expanding where we are,” Ken said. “There’s still room to grow here. Time will tell.”
“We never expected the amount of customers we see weekly. We also didn’t expect to be so involved with the community. We’ve become like family to so many customers,”
Instead of spreading Uncle Nick’s across multiple locations, they’ve continued adding to the original —building out the deli, bakery and market and turning the Lakeland shop into the full-service establishment they always wanted.
“I think we have everything where we want it. It’s like a painting—add a little here and there as we go,” Ken said. “If we want to perfect what we are doing then we can look to do more.”
Even with all the new additions, one thing isn’t changing: Uncle Nick’s is still meant to be an affordable neighborhood spot. “We charge fair prices — we are in it for the long haul. We want repeat business and to save our customers some dough,” Ken said.
That long-term mindset may be part of why Uncle Nick’s has managed to keep growing for 11 years without losing the thing that made customers fall in love with it in the first place.
“Consistency is key. The sandwich you got when we opened is the same now,” Ken said. “We added a lot of items—quality and consistency are non-negotiable.”
What they didn’t necessarily expect was just how much Uncle Nick’s would become part of Lakeland itself.
“We never expected the amount of customers we see weekly. We also didn’t expect to be so involved with the community. We’ve become like family to so many customers,” Ken said.
That community connection now stretches well beyond the deli counter, with Uncle Nick’s doing wholesale and catering for Polk County schools, Florida Southern College, Lakeland Regional, Orlando Health and other local businesses.
So what’s next?
Ken and Sam aren’t in a hurry to turn Uncle Nick’s into something it isn’t. They have ideas, as always, but for now, they’re focused on getting this chapter just right.
And maybe, someday, they’ll take over the rest of the building.
“We do have some dreams to take over the rest of the building. It may happen in 5 years or maybe 10,” Ken said. “The goal is to own the property and celebrate the decades to come as a family business. A dying breed.”
“We want to keep it alive!”