Welcome Back Central Grocery NOLA

Steve and I were just too excited about returning to New Orleans just in time to welcome back Central Grocery to NOLA to wait to tell you about it!!!

Normally my posts follow our journey as we traverse the country in our RV. But I’m interrupting that flow to let you know that we returned to our beloved NOLA on Tuesday, December 17, 2024. It feels like we are home. And unlike the past few years, our first stop was at the newly reopened and beautifully renovated Central Grocery on Decatur Street in the French Quarter.

Central Grocery has been closed since Hurricane Ida in August 2021. The wind and rain of Hurricane Ida caused the roof of their more than 100 year old building. Each time we returned to The Big Easy, the first thing we did was to check and see if it had reopened. For a while it looked like it might never happen. Lucky for us, we were able to purchase the amazing Central Grocery creation, the muffuletta, at Rouse’s Market. But it just wasn’t quite the same as entering that iconic deli to get our sandwich.

The Traveling Locavores along with the other New Orleanians are breathing a sigh of relief now that Central Grocery, the iconic deli where the muffuletta was invented over a century ago, finally opened again for business on Saturday, December 14, at 923 Decatur Street.

Tommy Tusa, the market’s third generation of owners, has been working on Central Grocery’s return for over three years, since the building’s partial collapse that left the deli without a roof for weeks. Tusa has faced an uphill battle in rebuilding it since then, but remained dedicated to bringing back the New Orleans landmark for as long as it took to make it happen.

When we entered the rebuilt Central Grocery, we were warmly greeted by owner Tommy Tusa. We have had many conversations with him over the years, but this time it was really special. It was like talking with an old friend who we hadn’t seen for years.

The entirely rebuilt Decatur Street space looks and feels familiar, just new and fresh. It’s still narrow and simple. But now it boasts brand new floors, cabinetry, deli cases, counters, and ceiling. And as an added bonus, it’s now wheelchair accessible. It’s stocked from floor to ceiling with some of the Crescent City’s most loved sauces, spices, mixes, spreads, and more. It’s still a one-stop shop for visitors looking to take home a piece of the city.

Tusa also caters to Central Grocery’s local audience. He took the option of rebuilding the store as close to its original state as was practical and thereby staying true to Central Grocery’s rich past.

According to Eater NOLA: “The history of the muffuletta in New Orleans is storied. Between 1884 and 1924, nearly 300,000 mostly Sicilian immigrants moved to New Orleans, transforming the French Market neighborhood into what was called “Little Palermo,” ripe with family grocery stores, pushcarts, and Italian wares. Salvatore Lupo was among them, opening Central Grocery across from the French Market in 1906. Sicilian workers often stopped into Lupo’s shop for bread, olives, cold cuts, and cheese for lunch, standing up or balancing a plate on their laps due to a lack of tables. As the story goes, Lupo was inspired to sandwich the ingredients all together, using bread as big as a plate. The name muffuletta comes from the bread itself — soft, round, flat, and sesame-seeded.

The iconic sandwich, which is the only one Central Grocery sells, is layered with olive salad, Genoa salami, ham, mortadella, provolone, and Swiss cheese, and is served cold. It travels exceptionally well, which became key to its enduring prevalence while the deli was closed — the sandwiches were made in Kenner and sold at other locations around town, including the wine shop next door to Central Grocery.”

After picking up our muffuletta, we sprinted back to our car and drove back to Ladybug. Years ago Tommy had told us that his favorite way to eat a muffuletta was warm from oven. We couldn’t wait to devour our sandwich after slowly warming it in the oven, to crisp the bread and make the cheese nice and melty. That first bite was true nirvana. Looking forward to more muffulettas in our future that come directly from the original source. Welcome Back Central Grocery NOLA!!!

If you are looking for information about working from home, visit our sister site https://WorkingOnOurJourney.com!