Opening in June, Antonelli’s Deli is helmed by (from left) baker and Bio Ritmo percussionist Giustino Riccio and Superstars Pizza owner Taylor Antonelli. (Photo courtesy Antonelli’s Deli)
Percussionists are considered the heartbeat of musical ensembles. They provide an essential rhythm, tempo and energy, possessing the ability to speed things up or slow them down and lock in the audience. Bio Ritmo musician and local baker Giustino Riccio understands that better than most, and these days, a similar philosophy is baked into his bread.
That’s why Superstars Pizza owner Taylor Antonelli gave Riccio a call when deciding to bring his long-held dream of a deli to life. In June, the pair will debut Antonelli’s Deli, a luncheonette-style sandwich shop at 3401 Patterson Ave. centered around fresh bread, simple ingredients and Italian inspiration.
“We want this bread and these sandwiches to be something nobody else is doing right now in Richmond,” Antonelli says. “Making the bread is really going to drive what we’re doing.”
The pair have worked together professionally for years through Antonelli’s mobile pizza concept, FiftyOne Pizza. But in true Richmond fashion, their stories overlapped long before. It was Antonelli’s brother who originally encouraged Riccio to start making pizzas during their time at Galley in Stratford Hills, where he developed a reputation for some of the best pies in the city.
The collaboration also reflects shared roots. Antonelli traces his Italian family’s history in the city back more than a century. Riccio, known for his smile and signature flat cap, grew up a Jersey boy with his nonna nearby, snacking on bread dunked in Sunday gravy after school, a formative tradition he dubbed “dippy dip.” The two talk fervently with their hands, can get obsessive over food and see bread as a humble vehicle with immense opportunities. They’re also committed — Antonelli has been at Superstars Pizza for decades, and Riccio has been part of Bio Ritmo since the salsa band brought him here in the early 1990s.
Delis are where it all started for Antonelli, his first job at one in college. After graduating with a degree in hospitality and tourism management from Virginia Tech and spending years working in restaurants, Antonelli became a general manager at Jason’s Deli, later purchasing Superstars Pizza.
“I’ve always loved sandwiches and delis. I’ve made sandwiches forever, so I always really wanted to do that,” he says.
Pizza and bread have always been a passion for Riccio. Like many musicians, he spent years serving double duty in restaurants: washing dishes, delivering pizza, waiting tables, working with owner Manny Mendez at Kuba Kuba and Galley, throwing casual pizza parties, and eventually selling bread during the pandemic. That’s when he found himself pulled toward the slower cadence of bread baking.
For Riccio, a self-proclaimed pizza man, pies were his first amore. But during the pandemic, when work in music and restaurants nearly vanished, sourdough bread moved to the forefront. He was drawn to the progression from dusty flour to the waiting game of fermentation and the reward of a perfect, crisp loaf.
“I fell in love with making dough,” he says, adding, “As I get older now, I’m really getting into giving things my full attention and trying my best to focus and appreciate one thing at a time, and simple things. And bread is a simple thing, … but it’s not easy.”
While Antonelli and Riccio are relying on their familial paths for influence, it’s their daily lives and decades spent calling Richmond home that are shaping the venture. The duo are firm that Antonelli’s Deli will reflect that undeniable part of their identities.
“We’re not actually in New York or New Jersey or Italy,” Antonelli says. “We’re trying to create that kind of Italian-inspired deli, but have our own sort of Southern luncheonette type twist on it, too. We’re not lost on the fact that we are in Richmond, Virginia.”
“Richmond is part of who we are,” Riccio adds. “I’ve lived here longer than anywhere else. I was really happy when Taylor made that clear to me, exactly what we’re trying to do.”
Their motto: “What are we having with the bread?” The deli will be anchored by a custom bread oven shipped from Italy, with much of the menu built around whatever Riccio pulls from its hearth.
Although the final touches are still in the works, patrons can expect six signature sandwiches that rely on curated meats and cheeses along with top-notch provisions, daily specials and sides, plus regular appearances from Antonelli’s mobile wood-fired pizza setup. Their bread style can’t be revealed quite yet — Riccio says he needs some time to get acquainted with their oven, but his ideal loaf boasts a crisp exterior and a soft interior, not chewy, not too airy.
“There has to be that crunch,” Riccio says, “but it should still melt in your mouth.”
Shaped by years of travels through Italy and their upbringing, the vibe at Antonelli’s represents a collection of memories and moments spent at markets, bakeries and neighborhood shops. The vision is being brought to life by Julie Roberts, a James Beard Award-winning designer known for her singular style and ability to build atmospheric spaces — including Scott’s Addition’s Lost Letter, Lillian and The Brooklyn — and half the pair behind sourdough pop-up Sunday Bagel.
Outside, bistro tables and umbrellas will wrap the corner of Patterson Avenue and Roseneath Road, channeling the kind of aperitivo-hour energy they hope the neighborhood embraces.
The deli building, a former dry cleaner, also marks a full-circle moment for Antonelli. As a teenager, he worked at a cleaner’s across the street from Superstars Pizza, years before owning the slice shop himself. A lifelong resident of the Museum District and the Fan, his connection to the area is stitched into the project itself.
For both, though, everything begins and ends with the bread — like percussion in a band, it sets the foundation for everything built around it.
“We feel the same way of just being able to use our past, our ancestors and our family and culture and things that our grandparents said to us about and use those to create something that I think Richmond’s going to be excited about,” Antonelli says.
