As many restaurants struggle, The Real Italian Deli is filling orders
The Real Italian Deli has two locations in the Coachella Valley. One in Palm Springs and one in Palm Desert.
The Palm Desert location is right along San Pablo Avenue. The revitalization of the street and brining in the Farmer's Market has helped The Real Italian Deli and their bakery gain more business, even during the pandemic. “We’re always busy and we are really appreciative and lucky to be busy,” said general manager Calvin Byer. 80-90% of their business was take out originally so they didn't have to pivot too much during the pandemic. Byer said the first couple of months of the pandemic was difficult. Now, they fill hundreds of orders a day with weekends seeing double the amount of orders.
We spoke with some of the loyal customers. “I love them! I am so grateful they’re here. They have wonderful products,” said Suzanne Lawrence who is a Coachella Valley resident during the winter months.
“We are one of the lucky ones, we never had to close. Our take out business, our loyal customers, and loyal staff stayed with us throughout,” said Byer. During the construction phase of San Pablo Avenue, Byer said they saw a slow down of business to a virtual stop. Now with the Farmer's Market, they have many people who have lived in the area for years newly discovering the deli and bakery. “We come here almost weekly, we love their breads and then we go into the store itself and buy pizza and eggplant,” said resident Jodee Arnold.
“It’s a 24 hour operation with our baking staff coming in at 2 to 3 in the morning,” said Byer. Staff working around the the clock. Byer said the last few months has seen at least a 25% increase in people coming in to buy their fresh baked breads, desserts, Italian sandwiches, and more.
Patty Dyer is a visitor from the Bay Area. “It’s hard to find really quality bread, especially the italian like the ciabattas and the country loafs that we like so much,” said Dyer.
Their hours are normally 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. but they open an hour earlier on Wednesday's for the Farmer's Market crowd. On Sunday's, they are open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“A big heartfelt thank you to those that can continue to come visit us weekly,” said Byer.
New Channel 3's Taban Sharifi will have more on this tonight at 5 p.m. on News Channel 3.
The Real Italian Deli can be found on CV Local Links, along with restaurants, shops, hotels and other businesses that are open. There you can find hours, business details and what's being done to keep customers safe.
