Mott & Hester Deli, a South Tampa staple of four decades, has closed

A sandwich hotspot with a popular catering service has quickly closed its doors after almost 42 years at its original location.

Mott & Hester Deli at 1155 S Dale Mabry Hwy. took to social media last Tuesday to announce its closure, stating its ownership "has been honored to serve the Tampa community for 41+ years."

While the deli didn’t explain why it chose to close its doors for good, comments under the announcement allude to the well-deserved retirement of owners Ted and Gina Kelly.

Since the closing announcement caused a very busy day yesterday, Mott & Hester served its last customers a day earlier than expected.

Ted and Gina Kelly opened the deli in December of 1982 and Mott & Hester has remained at the same strip mall location in South Tampa for the last four decades.

The popular, no frills deli with under a dozen seats offered a menu of loaded turkey, meatball, Italian and ham sandwiches, New Orleans-style fare like po’boys and muffulettas, hearty pasta dishes, salads, soups and entrees like spinach artichoke casseroles and Sicilian-style roasted chicken. Its Wild Turkey sammy with sautéed mushrooms, melted pepper jack cheese, and mayo on toasted white bread was a particularly popular menu item—and even made Creative Loafing Tampa Bay's 50 Best Sandwiches list in 2017.

In addition to providing dine in service, Mott & Hester also offered a variety of pre-made dinners and classic grab-and-go items.

According to a Tampa Bay Times article from 2007, the Kellys named the business Mott & Hester after a bustling street corner in New York City’s Little Italy neighborhood.

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