Courtesy DeLucia’s Deli & Grocery
By Andrea Harwood Palmer
DeLucia’s Deli & Grocery is under new ownership as long-time owners Ronald, Gilbert and Vince DeLucia exit the business.
Brothers David, Eric and Gregory Mohr purchased the business and some surrounding properties in December. The Mohr family, comprised of seven siblings, holds an expansive commercial portfolio in the Capital Region.
“We started in 2012, taking over Mohr’s Service Center in Saratoga Springs after our father passed away,” said David Mohr. “We also own the Mobil gas station on that corner, as well as a car wash nearby.”
The Mohr’s expanded into Latham with another Mobil station, a convenience store, a Dunkin Donuts and several apartments at a strip mall there. They also own a Mobil station and car wash in Colonie on Wolf Road.
Opportunity knocked when the brothers learned that the owners of DeLucia’s were retiring.
“We were looking for any place we could expand the family business. We’re constantly looking to grow,” said Mohr.
“DeLucia’s was something we’d looked at for a long time. We grew up living right near the deli as kids. It’s a great location and a nice piece of property, so we decided to take advantage of the owners selling it,” said Mohr.
“We saw that Stewart’s was going in across the street, and that made us more comfortable with the purchase, especially with there not being sewer or water there yet. We figured it was just a matter of time before it went in,” said Mohr.
Stewart’s owns roughly 100 acres near the location.
The Mohr’s approached Matt and Mark Little from Just Meats about operating the deli portion of the business. Just Meats will move their butcher shop into the location, while the Mohr’s will operate the convenience store side of things.
“They were thrilled to get involved,” said Mohr.
“I knew Matt from riding the school bus together as kids. Then we were customers of theirs when they were at the Malta location years ago. I knew they had since been operating in Schuylerville and Greenwich, and I figured they’d be interested in getting back into the Malta area. When I approached them, they were very excited about it,” said Mohr.
The brothers have done some light cosmetic improvements such as flooring and the removal of a small portion of wall to open up space.
A grand re-opening will happen sometime in mid-March or early April, according to Mohr.
“DeLucia’s is going from one family business to another. The deli has been there since the 1930s. Just Meats has been around since the 1970s. We’ve been in business for many years. There’s a lot of experience on that corner,” said Mohr.
DeLucia’s Deli & Grocery is located at 2858 Rotue 9 in Malta. Current weekday hours are 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., with Saturday hours of 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.