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Benedetti’s Deli, Haverhill’s oldest, continuously operated and family-owned restaurant, is for sale.
Edward Benedetti, who owns and operates the Mount Washington landmark with his sister, Mary DiBartolomeo, said a health scare last year prompted the move.
“I had open heart surgery for a quadruple bypass and, after being out for three months, it occurred to me that it was time,” Benedetti, 59, told WHAV. “The full weight of the restaurant fell to my sister when I was sick. I just realized that working 12-hour days had gotten too much for us.”
The pair’s grandparents, Molly and Marcy Benedetti, bought the building at 350 Washington St. shortly after they arrived in the U.S. from Italy in the mid-1940s. There, they opened Molly’s Dress Shop and moved into an apartment in the back of the shop. Marcy Benedetti and his brother, Angelo, opened Benedetti’s Shoe Store down the block. At the same time, their brother, Nazarine Benedetti, and his wife, Angie, opened Benedetti’s Sports Shop further down the block, next to The Tap. The family opened a market in 1945.
The pair’s father, Joseph “BoBo” Benedetti, worked in the market as a kid and then started the deli in 1961 in a building at the corner of Washington and Bartlett Streets, across the intersection from the shoe shop. He quickly became known for his signature sandwich, “The Rocket,” because of its large size and but reasonable price. Bread came from the nearby Fantini’s Bakery. When his mother, Molly, retired and closed her shop, Bobo Benedetti moved the deli into that space and ran it until his death in 2009.
Edward Benedetti grew up in and out of all of his family’s stores. Following high school, he left Haverhill for college and a career as a business analyst in Boston for 25 years. When his father got sick, he returned to Haverhill to take over the restaurant with his sister 16 years ago.
“The Benedetti family has had a strong connection to Haverhill and to our neighborhood for over 80 years,” Benedetti said. “My father was always proud that feeding the neighbors was more important to him than money. No one who came into the shop went hungry. During the pandemic, we donated supplies to several agencies who fed the city. We are looking for someone who will carry on the same legacy. Food is love.”
The deli along with the building, which includes two second floor apartments, is listed at $1.1 million.
“We’re getting strong interest,” Benedetti said. “But we want the right buyer.”