Fernando said he left the banking industry and opened the diner in 1984. Originally, the business was just a wine and cheese shop half the size of the current diner, he said.
“Even before the first year finished, we kind of turned into a restaurant because people wanted to sit down,” Fernando said. “So we expanded the very first year we opened.”
In 1994, Kertty said she quit her job as a computer programmer to help run the deli. Kertty said she develops the recipes and dishes for the deli, which serves its popular chicken salad—Kertty’s first recipe—as well as soups, salads and sandwiches on homemade bread.
Fernando said making food in-house has always been what sets the deli apart from other businesses.
“We make everything,” he said. “It takes a lot of people, a lot of labor. But we prep everything.”
When pandemic restrictions began in March, Fernando said they did not lay off staff but reduced hours as business fell about 50% the first week.
“We have never recovered to the level that [business] was, but it is slowly going back to the point that we could restore some of the hours,” he said.
Part of what helped the deli survive is its menu, which Fernando said lent itself well to pivoting to takeout and delivery options when dine-in services were restricted. Although the deli offered both takeout and delivery before the pandemic, he said the pandemic highlighted how useful those services can be.
With more than 30 years in the area, Kertty said the Kingwood community that has developed around the deli reached out to support the eatery during the pandemic.
“The people, they say, ‘Do you need any help? We can advertise for you anywhere. ... We want to put an announcement in the church, and we want you to keep going,’” Kertty said.
As the couple enters into 2021, Fernando and Kertty said they want to continue supporting the community and their long-serving staff members by remaining open. Fernando said they both want to work as long as they can, even as they get older.
“We don’t want charity; we just want to offer [the community] the best thing for their money,” Fernando said.
Chelsea Deli & Cafe
1538 Kingwood Drive, Kingwood
281-359-2972
The business does not have a website.
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-1 p.m., closed Sat.-Sun.
