Courtesy of Gioia's Deli
Gioia's Hot Salami Sandwich
Courtesy of Gioia's Deli
Alex and Amanda Donley
“One hot salami, please.” The most common sandwich request at Gioia’s Deli's three area locations will soon be heard at its newest location, at 922 Meramec Station Road in the Pointe 44 shopping center (near the intersection of Highway 141 and Interstate 44) in Valley Park. The location is slated to open in late April or early May.
The Concept
"We take polls from our customers, and Fenton/Valley Park areas are always the top areas requested," says Alex Donley, who runs the iconic sandwich shop with his wife, Amanda. "Other areas we are always looking to service are St. Charles County and Arnold. We feel like there is a huge demand for local products in this area, and there just wasn't much there yet. The population is dense, there's easy highway access, and we took over where a chain sandwich shop was previously. Obviously, we feel it's a good fit."
The Valley Park location will offer the same menu and incorporate similar design elements as the other locations, such as a large walk-up deli counter where customers can interact with the sandwich makers as they place their orders.
The Menu
Gioia’s signature hot salami sandwich comes from a recipe for salam de testa created by Gioia’s founder Charlie Gioia more than a century ago. At Gioia's, the mixture of cured pig’s head meat, beef, and spicy seasonings—served warm—is known simply as Hot Salami. The product received national attention when Donley and Bizarre Foods host Andrew Zimmern mixed up a batch for the show, which Donley said helped launch additional Gioia's locations.
Since many consumers are accustomed to the hard salami that graces most charcuterie boards (and they're not as familiar with salam de testa), Donley says "the goal, especially in this new area of town, is to educate customers if they are unfamiliar with our signature Famous Homemade Hot Salami or our other Italian meats."
Courtesy of Gioia's Deli
In addition to the signature sandwich, Gioia’s offers a roster of other sandwiches, many that started as specials or customer concoctions, such as the Spicy Daggett, Porknado, and Hogfather. In addition, every Friday during Lent, Gioia’s serves its famous King Cod sandwich (topped with mac ‘n’ cheese and Red Hot Riplets, on garlic cheese bread) and the Classic Cod (with a choice of cheese and garnish on garlic cheese bread).
The Gioia's brand continues to grow both locally and nationally. A line of Gioia's frozen pizzas was introduced is also available at local grocery stores. Gioia's sandwiches, Hot Salami Logs, and Hot Salami Brats are available for purchase via Goldbelly.
In addition, each location—1934 Macklind on The Hill, 623 N. New Ballas in Creve Coeur, and 11855 Adie in Maryland Heights—has a retail case where customers can buy Gioia's products, including the pizzas, Salami Logs, brats, queso, and summer sausage, the newest addition to its product line.
Customers may dine in, order online via DoorDash, or place catering orders. The Valley Park location will be open from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
