Moving torpedoes sandwich to take to the beach. Cold meat trays for house parties. An Italian bakery that serves cakes and cookies daily. A neighborhood restaurant where locals go to the grocery store to buy the best ingredients to make Pizza, lasagna and spaghetti at home.
Lucci’s Italian American Deli in Huntington Beach will close after more than 50 years, said owner Rick Refice, and its last date of operation will be February 26. The family business was started in Gardena. in 1946 by his grandmother, Lena Lucci, as an Italian Market with a meat department and fast food joint.
She sold the location in 1977, but the Huntington Beach location, which opened in 1971, is owned by Rick’s father, William Refice Sr. Rick Refice is the current owner of Lucci and he has run the place for decades, 30 years during that time with his brother. William Refice, Jr. as its business partner.
“Service, quality, friendship, family oriented. We make all of our employees feel like they are part of the family and not some corporation,” he said of Lucci’s enduring secret. “Stores like ours don’t exist anymore.”
Family-owned Joyce Refice, left, family-owned Lucci’s Italian American Deli receives a kiss from longtime customer De’Arna Kilekas in Huntington Beach on Monday, February 14, 2022. Kilekas, of Costa Mesa, was rushed to Lucci’s after she heard the business would be closing February 26 after 50 years in Huntington Beach. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register / SCNG)
Customers line up at the snack bar at Lucci’s Italian American Deli in Huntington Beach on Monday, February 14, 2022. Many customers flocked to the property after learning that after 50 years in Huntington Beach , Lucci’s will close on February 26. (Photo taken by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register / SCNG)
Taylor Refice, right, son of Rick Refice, owner of Lucci’s Italian American Deli, assists customers at a fast food restaurant at the family-owned business in Huntington Beach on Monday, Feb. 2022. Lucci’s will close on February 26 after 50 years in Huntington Beach. Taylor plans to open a new Lucci store with one of her employees, Jacob Carter, at a location a few miles from the old store in about seven or eight months. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register / SCNG)
Michele Andre poses for a photo inside Lucci’s Italian American Deli in Huntington Beach on Monday, February 14, 2022 after she learned that Lucci’s would close on February 26 after 50 years in Huntington Beach. Andre, who lives across the street, has been shopping at Lucci’s since she was a child. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register / SCNG)
Jacob Carter, right, assists a customer at the bakery at Lucci’s Italian American Deli in Huntington Beach on Monday, February 14, 2022. Lucci’s will close February 26 after 50 years in Huntington Beach. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register / SCNG)
Joyce Refice works at the checkout counter at Lucci’s Italian American Deli in Huntington Beach on Monday, February 14, 2022. Lucci’s will close on February 26 after 50 years in Huntington Beach. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register / SCNG)
Jacob Carter, left, and Joyce Refice work at the checkout counter at Lucci’s Italian American Deli in Huntington Beach on Monday, February 14, 2022 as customers rush to purchase items before Lucci’s closes on February 26. after 50 years in Huntington Beach. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register / SCNG)
Joyce Refice and her husband, Rick, owners of Lucci’s Italian American Deli, are shown with a photo of his father, William Refice, in Huntington Beach on Monday, February 14, 2022. Lucci’s will be closed on Monday. February 26 after 50 years in Huntington Beach . (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register / SCNG)
Joyce Refice, left, talks to longtime customer De’Arna Kilekas at Lucci’s Italian American Deli in Huntington Beach on Monday, February 14, 2022. Kilekas, of Costa Mesa, rushed to Lucci’s after she She heard the business was closing February 26 after 50 years in Huntington Beach. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register / SCNG)
Joyce Refice works at Lucci’s Italian American Deli bakery in Huntington Beach on Monday, February 14, 2022. Lucci’s will close on February 26 after 50 years in Huntington Beach. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register / SCNG)
Logo on the front window of Lucci’s Italian American Deli in Huntington Beach on Monday, February 14, 2022. Lucci’s will close on February 26 after 50 years in Huntington Beach. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register / SCNG)
Taylor Refice, left, is shown with his father Rick Refice, owner of Lucci’s Italian American Deli, and longtime employee Jacob Carter in Huntington Beach on Monday, February 14, 2022. Lucci’s will close on February 26 after 50 years in Huntington Beach. Taylor plans to open a new Lucci store with Jacob at a location a few miles from the old store in about seven or eight months. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register / SCNG) (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register / SCNG)
Customers eat lunch in the restaurant at Lucci’s Italian American Deli in Huntington Beach on Monday, February 14, 2022. Lucci’s will close on February 26 after 50 years in Huntington Beach. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register / SCNG)
Lucci’s Italian American Deli in Huntington Beach on Monday, February 14, 2022 will close on February 26 after 50 years in Huntington Beach. The family business was started in Gardena in 1946 by Lena Lucci, the grandmother of current owner Rick Refice, whose father started the business in Huntington Beach in 1971. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register / SCNG)
Locals ate in restaurants and shopped in the grocery section, which supplies everything to the Italian home chef who sold San Marzano tomatoes and caputo flour before they became trendy.
Jars of olives, artichokes and other antipasti favorites were on offer, along with wine and specialty items like semolina dough, amaretti cookies, Italian marzipan and espresso powder. Refrigerator boxes are filled with homemade ravioli, gnocchi, and sauces.
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The bakery makes fresh birthday bread Cake and other additional features. “Parents would come, bring their kids and get a free cookie,” he said. Then, when those kids become parents, they bring their kids in to get a free cookie, etc. “We have third generation customers,” Refice said.
After announcing last weekend that Lucci’s would be closing, fans on Facebook’s HB Local page began praising the deli.
“I also grew up in Gardena and love to eat sandwiches and snacks there. I moved to HB 40 years ago and enjoyed that Lucci’s was here too. I will very much miss this wonderful deli,” wrote Armida E. Gordon.
Jennifer Frost says: “Before I was old enough to shop at Lucci’s, my mother did and before her, my grandmother. “A big thank you to Lucci’s for always making family gatherings so delicious!”
Rick Muckelrath says: “Makes my boys and all their friends eat buckets of spaghetti during their childhood.
Lucci’s was very busy with people stopping by to get a final taste of signature items before it closed. “Especially this morning. Refice said. “We had to close for just an hour to regroup.”
Grocery stores have been pretty much cleaned up, but restaurants, snack shops and bakeries will be open from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily until Feb. 26. Business still good, even in times of pandemic, Refice said. Customers who can’t find pasta at grocery stores have raid Lucci’s shelf. “When the pandemic first hit, I had to go through a thousand pounds of pasta a day.”
The reason for the closure was because Refice decided not to renew the lease. His son, Taylor Refice, plans to open a new Lucci store with one of its employees, Jacob Carter, at a location a few miles from the old store in about seven or eight months.
Until then, Refice invites regulars in for the ultimate meal of Italian home cooking. He has declared his appreciation of their business throughout the years, from the time his grandmother opened in Gardena to his closing in Huntington Beach. “We have a big sign up front,” he said. “Thank you for 75 years of loyalty!”
https://www.ocregister.com/2022/02/15/after-more-than-50-years-in-huntington-beach-luccis-is-closing-feb-26/ After more than 50 years in Huntington Beach, Lucci’s will close February 26 – Orange County Register
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