Aquino's Deli offers 'more than American cheese' at Carlsbad's new Italian eatery
A Calabrian focaccia at Aquino's Deli starts life in a small oven where the soft, seasoned bread is heated and lightly toasted.
From there, owner Aimee Aquino spreads on a spicy Calabrian pepper aioli, piles on spianata calabrese, mortadella, stracciatella cheese, arugula and roasted red peppers.
If the traditional Italian meats and cheeses are unknown to Carlsbad diners, used to the Mexican and barbecue joints that populate the city's dining scene, Aquino said they can always sample before ordering.
"You're not going to know if you like it before you put it in your mouth," she said.
Aquino said she’d “been in food forever” before opening Carlsbad’s newest and likely most unique downtown eatery serving up Italian-inspired sandwiches, sides and deserts.
A Carlsbad native who graduated from Carlsbad High School in 2004 Aquino said her path to owning her own deli was not always obvious, but it fulfilled her lifelong dream of being able to do her own thing.
“I’m not out to get rich. I’m out to show people that there’s more than American cheese,” she said. “I like being able to do whatever I want. I was real curious.”
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She previously worked in the kitchen at Riverside Country Club, working her way up from dishwasher to kitchen manager for 13 years before striking out on her own last month.
On July 17, Aquino opened Aquino’s Deli along Carlsbad’s main thoroughfare on South Canal Street, down the road from the popular Lucky Bull Grill and amid the shops and businesses that populate the growing downtown area.
The deli offers hero sandwiches like “The Godfather” packed with Italian meats such as prosciutto, mortadella, capicola and soppressata, topped with arugula, roasted red peppers and drizzled with a balsamic dressing.
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There’s also “burrata bombs” that feature a fresh ball of mozzarella stuffed with stracciatella and cream, wrapped in a meat of choice and chosen topping and served on a fresh roll, and several paninis including one made with Nutella, peanut butter and potato chips.
"People are like 'What? Potato chips? But they don't realize that stuff starts to ooze when its heated up," Aquino said of the "Better than Reese's" panini.
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The Aquino family in the U.S. dates to 1908 when Aquino said her great grandfather arrived in West Virginia from Italy.
The family owned a restaurant there for many years, she said, inspiring her to a life of food.
Aquino first studied culinary arts in college at New Mexico State University, but soon found her calling not in academics.
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She became a traveling salesperson, selling everything from boxes of steaks to power tools, visiting several states and absorbing the different cultures and food customs of the places she went.
But sales wasn’t right for her either, Aquino said, and she came home to Carlsbad and started at the country club in 2010.
That gave way to a short-lived food truck and soon Aquino rented out the building at 108 S. Canal St.
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It used to be the home of a credit union and is in one of downtown Carlsbad’s oldest buildings built in 1896, when the town was a quiet ranching community before industrial booms in potash mining and oil and gas.
Carlsbad Current-Argus archives show the building was used by the Snyder Insurance Agency in the 1950s and became a consulting and employment firm Kogen Personnel and Doyle’s Jewelry in the 1970s.
It was Brown Electronics and later a Radio Shack in the 1980s, then became Security Finance Credit Union in the 1990s, which it remained through the 2000s.
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To outfit the building into a deli, Aquino spent two or three months planning and then five and half months of construction before the soft opening.
It was intended as “family and friends” only at first, Aquino said but after Carlsbad MainStreet Director Kat Davis posted photos of the eatery in action on social media, Aquino said business blew up.
“No one knew I was here,” she said. “The next day, I ran out of food. I had a line out the door. It’s good, but kind of crazy.”
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Aquino estimated she’s made about 130 to 150 sandwiches a day since opening.
The deli recently expanded its hours, open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., hoping to capture the evening dinner crowd amid the excitement in Carlsbad’s growing nightlife.
“I kind of thought this wouldn’t be as big as it’s gotten,” Aquino said. “I haven’t done any advertising. I think a lot of the business comes from downtown.”
She’s planning a grand opening in the future, hoping to partner with another downtown Carlsbad success story Milton’s Brewing, potentially serving local brews and live music on Aquino’s outdoor patio area.
“It’s a community place. That’s kind of what I wanted it to be,” Aquino said. “It’s a place where people can run into each other.”
Davis said Aquino’s Deli was another option to add to the downtown area’s growing diversity in food and drink options for the growing Cavern City.
“They have brought a need to our community with their unique menu and fresh take on deli style food,” Davis said. “There are many great locally owned and operated restaurants in the district, each with their own unique flavor and style and Aquino's has been the perfect addition to that.”
Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Aquino's Deli offers unique, Italian-style food in downtown Carlsbad
