This year marks the 40th anniversary of Broadway Stages. In celebration of our 40th trip around the sun, we are shining the spotlight on the heart of our community – the local businesses that provide the essential or simply enjoyable goods and services that allow us to thrive and delight in this great city we call home. We continue our series in the borough where it all began, Queens, and feature the local shops that line our streets, providing our neighbors, family, and friends a livelihood. Join us on our journey and get to know the people and businesses that make our community home. Today, we visit Mario’s Meats and Deli!

As a proud resident of the area for 40 years, Broadway Stages enjoys building relationships with local businesses, whether newcomers just starting out or those with deeper, longstanding roots like Mario’s Meats and Gourmet Deli.

Mario’s is the namesake of Mario DiGangi, an immigrant from Sicily who moved to America from Polizzi Generosa, Italy, in 1971. Upon arrival to the United States, he worked at meat markets in Queens for 12 years before opening his own shop. 

Self-styled as the “King of Italian Style Veal Cutlets and Homemade Sausage,”  Mario ran the business from the day he opened it in 1982 until his passing in 2011. Today, his son, Joe, carries the tradition forward. Customers receive a level of service and attention to detail that they can’t get in a chain supermarket or restaurant.

“We still hand-pick everything that we get in. Big pieces, half a cow, the whole cow, we break it all down here…people have come to expect the best from us…smoked meats, old school sausage, we keep it traditional, nothing’s changed,” says DiGangi. 

The meat is butchered in-house. And while it is more time-consuming, it allows the shop to offer a level of quality control that wouldn’t be otherwise possible. “I know how fresh the meat is … If I look at a piece of meat hanging, I know exactly how fresh it is,” said Digangi.  

In a time of big box stores and chain supermarkets, Mario’s has another feature that sets them apart. DiGangi says, “We still have that ‘hometown’ feel when people come into the shop…They know us. They know the family. Good conversation, good food….”

In addition to Grade A Prime and Black Angus cuts of meat, Mario’s Meats & Gourmet Deli offers daily and catering menus all year round. The shop also offers freshly prepared Italian sauces made fresh and a complete line of Italian groceries with a vast selection of extra virgin olive oils and aged balsamic vinegar. We suggest you try the famous sausage! The Sicilian recipe hasn’t changed since Mario’s first opened!

Like most local shops, not only do they provide goods and services, but also contribute to our local economy, helping to advance growth and development of the area. 

We encourage you to visit Mario’s Meats & Gourmet Deli.  You can reach the shop at (718) 326-7973, follow them on Instagram and Facebook, or stop in the shop at 7553 Metropolitan Avenue, Middle Village, NY 11379.  When you get there be sure to tell them that Broadway Stages sent you.