Fossati's Delicatessen is the oldest

deli Deli may refer to: * Delicatessen, a shop selling specially prepared food, or food prepared by such a shop * Sultanate of Deli, a former sultanate in North Sumatra, Indonesia Places * Deli, Boyer-Ahmad, a village in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Pro ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

and one of the oldest restaurants in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Located in

Victoria, Texas Victoria is a small city in South Texas and county seat of Victoria County, Texas. The population was 65,534 as of the 2020 census. The three counties of the Victoria Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 111,163 as of the 2000 censu ...

, Fossati's was opened in 1882 by

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

immigrant Fraschio ("Frank") Napoleon Fossati. Fossati's was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on May 20, 1991. After over 130 years, Fossati's is still owned and operated by the same family. Fossati had the current building constructed in 1895 and moved the deli from a nearby downtown location (actually, Fossati's had changed locations several times, and had, at one time or another, been on every corner of the

square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...

in downtown Victoria). The current building features double front doors with multi-light transoms. Over the years, Fossati's has handled imported foods, groceries, and feed and has served as an important gathering place for Victoria's citizens. In addition, many famous musicians have played at the deli, including country music legend

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...

. The deli is often used for political functions as well. Most recently, Texas Governor Rick Perry held a campaign stop in Victoria on August 25, 2010. In the back room of the deli, known as the Frank Napoleon room, there is a giant bookcase filled with hundreds of cookbooks, many of which have been out of print for 50+ years. Also inside, there is a

trench A trench is a type of excavation or in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit). In geology, trenches result from ero ...

-like area just above the floor surrounding the bar. This is where men used to spit

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

. Outside of the building there are still metal rings where men used to tie up their

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

s and come in for a drink. File:Fossati's_Interior.JPG, Fossati's Interior. File:FossatiBar.JPG, The historic bar at Fossati's. File:Fosattis_Hmarker.jpg, Fossati's Historical Marker. File:FossatisInt2.JPG, Interior of Fossati's Deli. File:FossatiFamily.JPG, Some of the grandchildren of Fossati's founder Frank Napoleon Fossati (many of whom currently run the deli), and their spouses. File:FossatisBar2.JPG, Bar at Fossati's Deli. File:FossatisBookcase.JPG, Cookbooks at Fossati's Deli.

References

*. {{Victoria County, Texas Italian-American culture in Texas Restaurants in Texas Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas Buildings and structures in Victoria, Texas Restaurants established in 1882 Delicatessens in the United States National Register of Historic Places in Victoria, Texas Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks Restaurants on the National Register of Historic Places

See also

References