After immigrating to the United States in 1956 and spending years working in a meatpacking plant in Denver until it closed in the 1970s, Carmine Lonardo Sr. opened this deli in 1976. The specialty of the house: Italian sausage. Today, 10,000 pounds of it is made here weekly by the Lonardo family.

The shop is located in a nondescript brick building in Lakewood near a liquor store and a Goodwill outlet There's a steady stream of customers coming through the door, and most make a beeline straight for the deli counter to order meats, cheeses, baked goods like cookies and bread and, of course, sandwiches.