The Reuben ($9.25) comes with a choice of corned beef, pastrami, turkey or turkey pastrami with sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing.[/caption]
There is a dent in the wall of the NeWorlDeli restaurant from back when metal clips carrying ticket orders would zoom along a wire running the length of the counter.
Co-owners Greg and Sarah Bontempo said they remember when their three daughters and their friends would play with the zip line, passing messages between customers’ sandwich orders.
Today the Bontempo girls are grown, and the zip line has been replaced by a point-of-sale system, but the family-friendly, local atmosphere remains the same.
“This place has got a lot of interesting memories,” said Sarah, adding it was once a coffee shop and before that, a Winn’s Five & Dime—where, according to a former customer, actor and University of Texas graduate Matthew McConaughey once served ice cream.
The Bontempo couple, who met in 1985 after graduating from UT, moved to California in the late 1980s and opened a high-end Italian restaurant. Sarah said after she had her first child, she felt uncomfortable letting her daughter run around in the nice restaurant, so she and Greg returned to Austin and opened an establishment where customers would be OK with children behind the counter.
“We wanted our kids to literally hang out here,” she said. “This was our living room; this was our kitchen.”
New to NeWorlDeli’s menu, Buffalo cauliflower ($6.99) is among the healthier options on the restaurant’s menu.[/caption]
Growing up in small-town New Jersey where his father ran a butcher shop, Greg said he wanted to bring the filling sandwiches of the Northeast to Austin. NeWorlDeli has an award-winning Reuben and Greg’s unique New Jersey Sloppy Joe, but it also has lighter options such as Buffalo cauliflower, salads and gluten-free soups that exhibit the couple’s healthier side.
Since opening in 1997, the restaurant has expanded, knocking out the walls of the shuttered art gallery next door to make room for seating and live music held six days a week.
Today, Sarah said many customers are shocked and delighted that the restaurant has remained for more than 20 years although some say they miss the old ticket zip line and the Bontempo daughters playing.
NeWorlDeli
4101 Guadalupe St., Austin 512-451-7170 www.neworldeli.com Hours: Mon.-Sat. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
