Inside One of Brooklyn’s Oldest Sandwich Shops | Sandwich City | NYT Cooking

“We’re at Defonte’s of Brooklyn. My name is Anthony Demonte, and I got the Cenzo 13 in my hands right now. [ITALIAN] [HIP HOP MUSIC] [MELLOW MUSIC] “Guys, anything else?” “Baby. Good morning, buddy.” “Sometimes I have a line out the door waiting for me to unlock it.” “Ronnie, any parlays lately or what? What’s going on?” “My name is Larry Demonte. I’m not a Defonte. I used to work here when I was 16 years old, and I learned the business.” “Hey. What’s up, my friend? How you doing? How’s everything? What’s up, buddy? How you doing? All right? Good. Good.” “My partner is Nicky Defonte. His grandfather was the original owner. Nicky came to me and said, listen, my father and my uncle are going to retire. Why don’t you come in the business? You know the business. And then me and Nicky took it over 24 years ago. I built the business up, brought it to the next level.” “Ready? Was that quick enough?” “No, but you could add it. You want to add mayonnaise? Yeah, sure. You got it. Large or small? Small.” “The energy is always high at Defonte’s. Happiness, love, and food is Defonte’s, a.k.a. The motherlands. We’ve been here over 102 years. Look at that finished product. So when you come into Defonte’s, you feel like you’re family. What’s up, primo?” “Yeah.” “Since I was born, I’ve been eating off this business, so it feels great to keep the tradition going. Thank you very much. Yes, thank you. Have a great day.” [UPBEAT MUSIC] “People get overwhelmed when they come in because of how many choices you have here, but everything is A-1.” “People come in, they have choices, at least 50, all different types. My favorite is the roast beef. I like it with yellow cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and mayo. That’s my favorite.” “Which one means the most to you?” “The Cenzo. The one I named after my son.” [SOMBER MUSIC] “Anybody next over here?” “Cenzo 13 you want, right?” “Yeah.” “Cenzo 13.” “Yeah, I kind of don’t know. I walked in, and then it was on the wall. And he was like, I made a special for Vinny.” “His nickname, they used to call him Cenzo. His name is Vincenzo, Vincent. And my lucky number was 13. And he used to always, if he was in baseball, he would pick 13. He played football, he picked 13. So it became his lucky number, too. He passed away three years ago, and it’s tough. My father used to always say to me, your kids are pieces of your heart. So I have a piece that’s missing now, but I’ll be with him one day again.” “Cenzo 13. You got it, brother.” “Thank you.” “That special sells the most for cold sandwiches because my dad put all of his heart into that sandwich.” “I wanted to invent a real Italian sandwich for him. We put Sopressata, broccoli rabe, roasted peppers, fresh mozzarella, hot peppers, prosciutto, balsamic glaze, and olive oil. People love it.” “Is this your favorite sandwich?” “Yeah, my favorite.” “Yeah, but everything’s falling on the floor.” “Watch your back, Jerry. Come on, Jerry.” “Yeah, his colorful personality. You know, he was really a funny kid. And when you open it up, you see the burst of colors that come out of there, between the meats and the red peppers and the green from the broccoli and the white from the mozzarella.” [MELLOW MUSIC] “So when the Cenzo first came out, it was very fresh. And people ordered it, and I would sometimes get the chills and be in a bad spot. But as time went on, I got stronger. Now people order it, and it just makes me feel like he’s with me. So much alike -- we were like yin and yang, so much alike and so much different in ways that we balance each other out perfectly. When I talk about my brother, I don’t say my older brother. I say my best friend. And I feel like part of me is missing.” [WAVES CRASHING] [FUNK MUSIC] “Somebody’s free, we got to fill up.” “They used to make everything fresh back in the day. You go to a lot of delis, they buy the containers. It’s already made. So we kept the tradition. We do it every morning fresh. Everything here is homemade.” [UPBEAT MUSIC] “O.K., Vic. Ready. Now you work it. You got to get one finger, one finger. When it starts going like that, it’s almost ready. Now I make the balls. And that’s what’s fresh mozzarella.” “There’s so much that goes into this behind the scenes in the kitchen and the hard work that the guys put in that really make us who we are. It’s worth it to me. It’s a little hard work, but it’s worth it.” “How’s everything? How’re you doing? How’s everything? Good seeing you.” “What’s up, Jonathan?” “Still come in for the potato.” “Good seeing you. Good seeing you.” “How long have you been coming here?” “Since the ‘70s. What’s that? Over 50 years.” “The school was right across the street. I was going to the seventh grade, and we would sneak over here and go get a deli sandwich. And I’m not kidding you. I was about this high, being seven. And they’d always remember my name, and I’m so grateful.” “You look good, Larry.” “Thank you.” “How you feel?” “Yeah, all right, brother.” “I mean, considering.” “Yeah. Thank God. Hanging in there, pal.” “My dad would even bring me, come here and have sandwiches all the time. And it’s a lot of laughs. We still have a lot of fun with each other.” “Hey, how’re you doing, pal.” “Good to see you.” “How’s Nikki?” “Good. He’s good. I will always.” “It’s good to see you, brother.” “Good to see you.” “You see people come in here, they walk in they own the place. They just love that vibe. They don’t feel out of sort. They feel like part of the family.” “Third grade, right?” “Third grade.” “Nice.” “It’s that old feeling -- that old feeling like it’s still old school Brooklyn -- that keeps people coming back. We changed with the times, but we still have that same old feeling.” “Have a great day, pal.” “Bye, Frankie.” “The best in New York City.” “I have employees here. 18 years, 15 years, 20 years, so we must be doing something right, that they don’t leave.” [PEACEFUL MUSIC] “Peoples.” “Peoples.” “Hey. What’s up?” “All the Sopranos, they’ve came here. -- came here. A lot of movie stars and stuff like that because the place is very known, and it’s been around a long time, so people talk about it. And they come in, they try it out, and they love it. Yeah, you can go. Smile. You’re on camera.” “Yeah, yeah.” - [LAUGHS]: [WHISTLING] “Oil and vinegar.” “Cousins came to visit at the motherlands.” - [ITALIAN] “Thank you.” “Great to meet you guys.” “Thank you.” “Have a good one. Take care.” “We’re at the motherlands. We’re going to make a Cenzo Special. The Cenzo Special, after my big bro. [ITALIAN] “The business picked up more with him doing the social media. So he’s been doing that, and he’s working in the store, and he’s been doing very well.” “A lot of people say when you mix family with business, it’s not good, but we’re the complete opposite. It’s a pleasure working with my pops.” [EXCLAMATION] “It’s going to be $17.50, brother. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.” [MELLOW MUSIC] “I name some of the sandwiches after people who have passed away. And then when they say The General, you know, I think of my father. And when they ordered the James Cagney, I think of Danny and Vito that I actually worked for when I was a kid. I always think of my son, but when they order the sandwich, I think about him.” [MELLOW MUSIC]