New York-Style Delicacies At Flakowitz Deli & Bakery Story by Chris Felker • Photos by Julie Unger
Area residents who have been wishing for Flakowitz Deli & Bakery to bring its New York-style delicacies to Wellington can thank Robert Pirozzi’s stepson Dominic’s hard work and lucky stars that it’s finally here, bringing with it brimming food cases and a menu of tantalizing dishes. Pirozzi, a 52-year-old transplanted Long Islander who runs a successful mini-chain of two such eateries in southern Palm Beach County, has just opened another Flakowitz location in Wellington’s booming State Road 7 corridor. Its grand opening is set for Feb. 6-8. Pirozzi had been waiting for his stepson’s budding baseball career to take flight before he committed to opening a Wellington location. That happened recently when Dominic, a centerfielder, was drafted by the New York Yankees organization after graduating from Stanford University. “I wanted to take that ride with him because he’s a really good baseball player, and I didn’t want to lock myself down,” Pirozzi explained. “And now that he has finished his school, I felt like I could do it. The business has never been better.” Pirozzi, who’s been in Palm Beach County for more than 20 years after moving here from Great Neck, N.Y., bought a 2,000-square-foot space in Boca Raton in 1993 with original partner Karl Pechter, a fellow Long Island baker, and opened the area’s first Flakowitz. Six years later they expanded, establishing a restaurant triple that size in western Boynton Beach. Both are still open, although the partners originally sold the Boca store in 2005. Last year the extremely popular Boynton location had more than $7 million in sales, Pirozzi said, describing it as “pretty much a monster of a store.”
He brought in three new partners in 2013 when he and Pechter decided to reacquire the Flakowitz in Boca. One is Joey Lograsso of Mamma Mia’s Trattoria. But Pirozzi has long had his sights set on Wellington. “I love the location. I’ve always wanted to be in Wellington,” he explained. “But I wouldn’t go just anywhere. I wanted a good location, and when Trader Joe’s opened up near this spot, and this place became available, we decided we’d jump at it.” Pirozzi’s got an apt description for his brightly lit, wide-open, airy deli with its large glass food cases and walk-up self-serve bars. “Our concept is really old deli meets new deli,” he said. “So we’re bringing in the oldfashioned corned beef and pastrami Reubens, all that stuff, but now we’re also going to have create your own salad, we’re going to have an oatmeal bar in the morning. We’re going to have all kinds of different salads, in terms of ultra-healthy prepared items.” But still there are all those sweet treats and big platters that define the traditional deli smorgasbord. Visiting during Flakowitz’s soft opening week in late January, we sampled some traditional favorites, as well as some healthier fare and, of course, a few sweet dessert treats. The Asian Chicken Salad features marinated chicken with mandarin oranges, corn, peas, mixed peppers, cashews and tomatoes over mixed field greens with a ginger dressing. It was light, crispy, cold and delicious. Our Create Your Own (CYO) omelet had grilled chicken and American cheese, plus a toasted whole wheat bagel with cream cheese, and home fries on the side, all served steaming hot and delicious.
(1.) The Asian Chicken Salad features marinated chicken with mandarin oranges, corn, peas, mixed peppers, cashews and tomatoes over mixed field greens with a ginger dressing. (2.) A chocolate Linzer tart. (3.) A cigar roll pastry. (4.) The Sloppy Joe Panini features thinly sliced corned beef and pastrami on grilled focaccia with Swiss cheese and Russian dressing. (5.) The Eggs Benedict serves up two poached eggs on a toasted bialy with Canadian bacon and homemade Hollandaise sauce, with home fries. (6.) A Create Your Own (CYO) omelet with grilled chicken and American cheese, served with home fries. 130
february 2015 | wellington the magazine