DeFalco's: The Scottsdale Italian Deli Locals Have Kept Quiet Since 1972
DeFalco's Italian Deli & Grocery is the family-run Scottsdale deli that has been hand-making Italian food since 1972, tucked into a modest strip center at 2334 N Scottsdale Road. John and Dora DeFalco opened it with recipes that reach back more than a century into their families, and more than fifty years later the family still works the counter. For locals in South Scottsdale it is the neighborhood's best-kept food secret: subs stacked high, hand-formed Italian sausage links, and a grocery wall of imported pasta, olive oil, and antipasti.
An Italian Family Story, from Abruzzo to Scottsdale
Long before Scottsdale became a destination for tasting menus, the DeFalco family was making food the way they had in Italy. The family emigrated from Abruzzo to Toronto around 1903, then settled in Detroit, where the original DeFalco's deli got its start. In 1972, John DeFalco, his wife Dora, their son Jerry, and daughter-in-law Judy opened this Scottsdale location using family recipes that were already a century old.
More than fifty years later, the deli is still family-owned and the counter is still the same unpretentious one. The menu never chased trends, and the neighborhood never stopped loving it for that.
What to Order at the Counter
The deli case is the show: subs, hand-formed Italian sausage, and a rotating lineup of Italian dishes made from scratch. Regulars will point you to the meatball sandwich first, and then to the Italian Beef with thin-sliced rib-eye. Pizza and calzones come out of the same small kitchen, and the grocery side stocks imported meats, cheeses, pasta, sauces, wine, and beer to take home.
- The meatball sandwich, the regulars' favorite, on a fresh Italian roll
- Hand-formed Italian sausage links and the Italian Beef with thin-sliced rib-eye
- Pizza and calzones from the same scratch kitchen
- A grocery section of imported Italian meats, cheeses, pasta, wine, and beer
Why Locals Keep It to Themselves
DeFalco's lives in a small strip center on Scottsdale Road, easy to drive right past if you do not know it is there, and a short drive from Old Town. That is exactly how loyal customers like it. There is no flash and no expansion: just century-old recipes, a family at the counter, and customers who have been ordering the same meatball sub for decades. It is the kind of place Eastside residents whisper about to friends and never put on a list.
DeFalco's has been in the same unassuming spot since 1972, and that is the point: no gimmicks, just century-old family recipes, hand-formed sausage, and the same family working the counter three generations deep.
DeFalco's Italian Deli & Grocery is at 2334 N Scottsdale Road, Suite 133, in South Scottsdale, a short drive from Old Town. It is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Stop in for a meatball sub at the counter, or stock the pantry with imported pasta and sauce for the week. Menus and the full family story are on the official site, defalcosdeli.com.
This week's hidden gem is part of our Small Business Spotlight series, where we introduce the independent shops, cafes, and makers that give the Eastside its character. Know a small business we should feature next? Send Tricia a note.
Know an Eastside Small Business We Should Feature?
Nominate your favorite local shop, cafe, or maker in Gilbert, Chandler, Mesa, or Scottsdale. We would love to tell their story.