When Vince Valenza first opened the doors to Blues City Deli at 2438 McNair Ave. in October 2004, the vision was intentionally flexible. Valenza originally imagined something closer to a neighborhood market – an inviting space where customers could pick up meats and cheeses by the pound, a loaf of Italian bread, olive salad or spices to take home. Sandwiches were part of the plan, but not necessarily the centerpiece. It didn’t take long for the neighborhood to make that decision for him.
“Within the first year, it was clear,” Valenza recalled. “Ninety to 95 percent of people were coming in for sandwiches.” The handful still browsing the shelves for pantry items couldn’t compete with the steady demand for freshly made subs. Blues City Deli listened, adapted and leaned fully into food service. “This is what the people want,” Valenza said. And so the deli became what it remains today: a sandwich shop guided as much by its community as by its founders.
Flexibility and adaptation have been at the core of the business even before Blues City Deli found its home in Benton Park more than 20 years ago. In his search for a permanent spot, Valenza explored multiple locations and concepts, each attempt falling through for practical reasons – financing, feasibility, timing. At one point, he scaled the idea back entirely, considering a small hot dog stand near Soulard Market under the name Blues City Red Hots.
The turning point came through a chance conversation. While discussing a potential website with a local designer, Valenza learned of an available space just across the street from the man’s home. The area, he was told, was on the upswing. When Valenza connected with the property owners, it was serendipitous. “Everything just sort of fell into place,” he said. By early 2004, the ink was dry, and Valenza began building a storefront on the corner of Victor Street and McNair Avenue into what would become a staple for the St. Louis lunch scene.
From the start, the menu was an ode to the music and movement of the Blues Highway. The original lineup featured just 12 sandwiches and two hot dogs, drawing inspiration from cities along the route. There was Chicago Italian beef, Memphis-style pulled pork with slaw, New Orleans influence and St. Louis staples built around salami and roast beef. It was a tight menu, intentionally so, designed to establish identity without overreach.
Over time, customer favorites emerged. Today, roast beef and pastrami dominate the board, both made in-house. The Big Tommy – roast beef piled onto garlic cheese bread with grilled peppers and onions – has become a signature. So have the pastrami offerings, whether served old-school with Swiss and spicy mustard or Reuben-style with sauerkraut and Thousand Island. Another standout is the Thunderbird, layers of pastrami, turkey and capicola in a sandwich born not from a recipe book, but from the joy of experimentation among staff in the kitchen.
Growth, Valenza emphasizes, has always been gradual. Blues City Deli didn’t advertise in its early years. The decision to open a business tucked into a residential neighborhood rather than on a major thoroughfare like nearby Gravois Avenue was initially met with caring skepticism from those close to Valenza. However, through consistency, word of mouth, and later, the rise of online restaurant discovery, the internet leveled the playing field, bringing in curious diners seeking out hidden gems.
From day one, the Benton Park community showed up. Regulars returned daily. Neighbors spread the word. That steady local support helped sustain the business through its learning curve and beyond. “It blew me away,” Valenza recalled. “The neighborhood has always been so supportive, and it still is.”
For years, Blues City Deli hosted live blues performances inside the shop, transforming the small space into an intimate, high-energy room beloved by musicians and patrons alike. Touring artists carried stories of the deli back to Chicago, Texas and the West Coast, praising St. Louis for its engaged and emphatic audiences. One regular, affectionately known as The Deli Queen, became emblematic of that era as a kind of unofficial cheerleader, rallying crowds and embodying the deli’s spirit.
After Covid forced a pause, live music has slowly returned in scaled-back form, now hosted occasionally on the patio. Acoustic sets, lawn chairs, familiar faces – it’s different, but the essence remains. The Valenzas are exploring how music fits into the deli’s future, possibly through seasonal series rather than a weekly schedule.
That future is increasingly family-driven. Vince’s sons, Vinnie, Joe and Johnny Valenza, are part of the daily operations, while his daughter Grace handles social media. Over time, coworkers become family – especially those who have stood behind the counter since the beginning, like Robbie Farris, who has spent 21 years helping shape the deli’s story. It’s a multigenerational business now, and that continuity shapes how they think about legacy.
For Vinnie, that legacy is simple and exacting: dependable food, fair prices and genuinely friendly service. “People know what they’re getting when they walk through the door,” he shared. “Consistency matters.”
Two decades in, Blues City Deli has become a place where memories stack up alongside sandwiches. Parents who once visited as kids now return with their own families. Friends meet there during the holidays. Out-of-towners are brought in for their first Big Tommy. It’s a neighborhood deli, yes – but also a landmark shaped by patience, community trust and the simple power of doing one thing well, over and over again.
This article appears in January 2026.