Goodbye Weekend at Cannone’s Deli 

Burnt Hills — Cannone’s Deli isn’t just a deli – it’s been a home, but with other homes to look after, the Cannone’s are finally calling it quits at this location.

John Cannone began his restaurant career working in his father’s Long Island deli, the Five Corners Food Market. In 1980, John married Theresa, and four years later, the couple moved upstate. On August 4, 1984, they opened Cannone’s Deli at 654 Saratoga Road. 

The restaurant was a continuation of what John’s father taught him about how to make good sandwiches. With rolls from Rockland County, locally-sourced Thomas Poultry eggs, only the best bacon, and Boar’s Head Brand meats, the Cannone’s make sandwiches the way everybody likes them. 

A Mighty Gallop

The location of Cannone’s Deli was home to one restaurant establishment or another for a century. When the Cannone’s took over in the eighties, they served gas from pumps out front, and lived for a year and a half in the apartment above. 

Five years later, they built the current structure, originally named the Lake Elizabeth Plaza, and operated the corner unit. They ran Cannone’s Pizzeria and Cannone’s Liquor Store here, too, before selling the plaza in 1999. 

In the proceeding years, the deli became Kelley’s Deli, and Post Time Deli and Catering, before the Cannone’s again took over operations in 2018. In the interim, John enjoyed harness racing and running the Horseman’s Restaurant at the Saratoga Harness Track, while also serving as President of the Amateur Driving Club. 

“I didn’t realize how many people loved us until I came back,” said John, who arrived in Wilton when he was 28 years old, and began his 12-year term on the Town Board when he was 33. “People would come in and hug me, saying, ‘Welcome home. Don’t go anywhere. This is where you belong.’”

“When I came here, I was the outsider, but now,” said John, nodding, “I consider myself a local.”

“The hardest part of leaving this place is leaving the people.”

Life After the Races

John and Theresa agree, “It’s time.” 

They’ve made more than 1,000+ egg sandwiches each week, and all the favorites, including the Cannone’s Special; made with Cappy Ham (hand-coated with the taste of Old-World Italy), pleasantly sharp provolone, and peperoni; the Thanksgiving dinner or turkey-bacon sub.

After entertaining several offers, John chose to sell Cannone’s Deli to Matthew Sanchez and his business partner, Colin Hunt. Sanchez, a 1993 graduate of the French Culinary Institute, has been a Saratoga resident for 12 years, known the Cannone’s for six, and worked for them nearly two. 

“This place is an institution,” said Matthew. “There are guys 20 years younger than me who were raised on the Cannone’s egg sandwiches and pizza. I have a responsibility to the neighborhood to keep the tradition going.” 

When this Travers’ Weekend is through, Matthew will need both full and part-time help to replace the Cannones, he said. He is looking for people with John’s same bright smile and welcoming personality. 

“It’s simply what I’ve done all my life,” shrugs John, who, in retirement, is looking forward to relaxing, traveling to the couple’s two homes in Delaware, and seeing their three children and five grandchildren on the East Coast. 

“I’m looking forward to being with my family. For seven days a week, 24 hours a day, it’s been about the deli,” said Theresa. “Now, my daughter is having her first child, and I’m totally excited to spend this time with her.” Theresa is also looking forward to attending her grandsons’ hockey games, she added, which she’ll finally be able to see since she’ll no longer need to open the deli every morning.