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Many restaurants market themselves and their food as “New York style,” but if you’re looking for the real deal, a trip to Lakeland might be in order. The Polk County city is home to Uncle Nick’s Italian Deli, founded in 2015 by Sam DeBellis, 28, and his father, Ken DeBellis, who’s also his mentor.
Sam moved from New York’s Hudson Valley to Florida with his mother and father in 2011. The DeBellis family’s ancestral home, however, is in the Bronx — home of iconic New York City institutions such as Yankee Stadium and the Bronx Zoo and known for its pivotal role in the development of hip-hop music and culture.
“We’re a New York-style Italian deli,” Sam says of Uncle Nick’s. “We make our own bread and bagels and fresh mozzarella cheese. If you go to New York, you can find a deli on every other street corner; you find delis in gas stations! But when you move down here at, besides Publix, you don't find delis in many places.”
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