The year was 1972. It was the year of the Agnes Flood, the Watergate break-in, the Oakland A’s were king of baseball, and the Miami Dolphins had an undefeated NFL season; it was also the year that Tony’s Delicatessen and Fresh Meats opened for business.

The business was started by Tony DiParlo, who had been the manager for many years of Unterecker’s Delicatessen at the former Williamsport Market House. When the Market House closed, Tony opened a new business which was to become Tony’s Delicatessen on Court Street. He remained at that location until 1985, until he moved to his present location on Washington Boulevard. His son, Carl, then took over for his father, but Tony continued to help out at the new location. In later years Tony would go into the deli early and greet the early rising customers before going home at noon. He did this until 2001.

Carl’s sister, Mary, soon started working at the deli. She soon became known as “Aunt Mary” to both the staff and customers of the business. She got to know all the customers and their families on a first-name basis. She continued to work there until 2012 when she fell and broke her hip. She celebrated her 90th birthday, complete with a billboard befitting the occasion.

There have been various changes in the business through the years. When the store first opened on Washington Boulevard, it operated seven days a week. A catering business and a small retail shop were also added.

Through his extensive experience, Carl DiParlo became an excellent butcher and cook, as well as cookie baker. At one time, Tony’s had 40 full and part-time employees.

Carl was able to grow the business and still have it retain that friendly, small business and small-town approach, in which the needs of the customers always came first. Tony’s soon gained a great customer service reputation.

His wife, Lorraine, took charge of the catering part of the business. The store hours have cut back from seven days a week to six days.

Carl had a stand at the Lewisburg Farmers Market on Wednesdays from 1975 until 2020 with the advent of the COVID pandemic.

The pandemic caused Carl and the folks at Tony’s to make some adjustments, but they were up to the task. They added a tent on their side parking lot for non-contact pick-up of orders. All orders were called in and continued to be filled by Tony’s employees, who continued to work through the pandemic.

When the store was able to open back up fully, there were plexiglass barriers placed around the cookie island, and a new red-light/green light system was instituted to let customers know when their orders were ready.

With the re-opening several employees were unable to return, and it has been very tough to replace them, and as a consequence, they have discontinued their catering service; however, customers can still can order large pans of salads and various other foods that they have come to enjoy. They have also had to scale back their hours to Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. They are closed Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.

“We are thankful for all of our loyal customers and our dedicated employees even with all the COVID challenges over the last few years. We continue to thrive as a hub of our community,” Carl told Webb Weekly.

If I might be permitted a personal comment. Tony’s catered my wedding to my wife Mary in 2010, and they did a wonderful and professional job with their excellent service and food. Also, a very good friend of mine, the late Rhonda Portanova, worked for them for several years and always spoke glowingly of her experience of working at Tony’s and how she felt she was part of a wonderful family.

Here’s to 50 more years of Tony’s Delicatessen and Fresh Meats.