Cozy Charm

& Crazy Good

Comfort Food

But his nickname comes from a grade school basketball coach who thought the young student’s basketball skills were “sweet.” The name has stuck with Maggiore throughout the years and, when he decided to open his deli in Schuylerville two years ago, his wife Donna said, “why not name it Sweet Lou’s?”

Maggiore is originally from Brooklyn. His family moved upstate when he was ten. But that charming Brooklyn style and dash are still very much in evidence in the chef ’s manner and demeanor. When our intrepid trio entered the deli on a recent Tuesday evening, we weren’t quite sure what to expect – after all, we were going to a deli at 6 o’clock in the evening. Most deli’s do their biggest business during the day and are closed by dinner time.

Not Sweet Lou’s. The rustic broad wooden stairs that lead to the second floor of the recently renovated old building open to an equally rustic and charming space. The chalk board that takes up an entire wall is filled with descriptions of menu items, ranging from daily soups to deli sandwiches and subs to dinner entrees, all named after family and friends Maggiore has made over the years.

Maggiore said he spent two years renovating the building. When he and his wife purchased the property a few years earlier, it was divided into apartments.

“Funny thing, though,” said Maggiore with a twinkle in his eye, “our tenants didn’t seem
to think they actually had to pay rent.” In addition to his prodigious skills in the kitchen, Maggiore knows his way around storytelling.

He recalled how, after the building was vacant, he was sitting in the space one evening, glass of red wine in hand, staring at the sickly green walls, when the idea came to him to convert it into a deli. “My wife’s gonna kill me,” he remembered thinking to himself.

Fortunately for Maggiore – and for his loyal following – Donna was very supportive of her husband’s idea to open his own place.

For the next two years, he worked on the renovations himself, early in the mornings and in the evenings, after returning home from his full-time role as general manager of Longfellows.

The green walls are gone, replaced by natural rough-hewn wood and large plank floors that Maggiore resurfaced himself. The dining area has a classic cast-iron wood stove, with hammered tin lampshades suspended from the exposed beams in
the ceiling and large wooden tables and benches for communal seating, as well as three or four high tops with rustic chairs. The combined effect of casual rustic chic and the chef ’s natural charm and genuine

friendliness would be winners in their own right. When you factor in the food, you’ve got a home run.

Sweet Lou’s opened on October 23, 2017 and word of its wonderful food spread quickly. Maggiore’s original intent was just to offer deli food for people to take out. Before long, people wanted to stay and eat on the premises and soon after, they began asking about dinner entrees.

Maggiore responded by offering nightly specials that include the most incredible chicken parmigiana I have ever had, bacon- wrapped meatloaf and incredible meatballs and pasta, to name just a few of the mouth- watering choices on the menu board.

Business was going full-swing – until December 28th. The frigid weather resulted in freezing pipes, which burst and flooded the deli as
well as the bakery, Cake, which had recently relocated to the first floor of the building.

It only took 12 days for Maggiore and his team to get things repaired and back up and running, and Maggiore said that business has quickly picked up once again.

As we sit around our large table, with classic “Rat Pack” music in the background, Maggiore regales us with stories of growing up in the area and becoming a chef. In between his stories, he jumps up to greet