Tickle's Deli in downtown Erie could be closing its doors

Jim Martin, Erie Times-News
·2 min read

Tickle's II Sandwich Shop — the home of the Freddie sandwich and a favorite downtown lunch spot for decades — might be closing its doors.

The shop at 17 W. Fourth St., known until 2020 as Tickle's Deli, was dark Friday morning and a cardboard sign on the front door announced that the business, not the building, was for sale.

The sign still hangs outside of Tickle's II Sandwich Shop, but a carboard sign on the door says the business will be liquidated on April 6.
The sign still hangs outside of Tickle's II Sandwich Shop, but a carboard sign on the door says the business will be liquidated on April 6.

The sign, which included a phone number, continued: "Act fast as the store will be liquidated by April 6."

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The story of Tickle's

The takeout-only restaurant has been owned since early 2020 by Linn Wasielewski.

In recent months signs have been posted periodically on the door, announcing that the business was closed temporarily because of a lack of employees.

Wasielewski returned calls Friday evening, and told the Times-News she lost a couple of employees in recent weeks. Another had to leave for surgery, and she has been unable to replace them. "Everyone wants to make $20 an hour and I just can't afford that," she said. "I don't think I can do it anymore."

The owner of the building has leased the property to someone else, she said, adding that she is still willing to sell the business but it would have to be relocated.

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The door was locked and the building was dark Friday morning at Tickles II Sandwich Shop at 17 W. Fourth St.
The door was locked and the building was dark Friday morning at Tickles II Sandwich Shop at 17 W. Fourth St.

Tickle's, founded in 1986 by Joe Wyant, was originally located in Modern Tool Square. The business moved to its current location a few years later.

A courthouse favorite

Erie County Judge John J. Trucilla said he's been a customer for most of that time and that Tickle's has long been a go-to destination to procure lunches for folks serving on jury duty. "All the judges had their menus," Trucilla said. "We knew we had them when we needed to get lunch together."

Along with local law offices and Gannon University, "The courthouse was a big business for them," Trucilla said. "It was kind of part of the fabric of the courthouse. They did a great service to downtown."

Trucilla's go-to order was the turkey and cheese sub with light mayonnaise. But Tickle's is perhaps best known as the home of the Freddie, a monster of a sandwich filled with ham, capicola, salami, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato and Italian dressing, served on a full loaf of Italian bread.

Smaller sizes were available. But as of Friday afternoon, the future of Tickle's and, the Freddie sandwich, seemed uncertain.

Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Tickles II Sandwich Shop could end decades-long run in downtown Erie