Central Grocery, the Original Home of the Muffuletta, Finally Reopens

Closed since Hurricane Ida in 2021, the iconic French Quarter deli makes its triumphant return on Saturday, December 14

New Orleanians are breathing a collective sigh of relief this week after receiving the news that Central Grocery, the iconic deli where the muffuletta was invented over a century ago, is finally reopening in its original French Quarter home. Central Grocery opens on Saturday, December 14, at 923 Decatur Street.

Tommy Tusa, the market’s third generation of owners, has been working on Central Grocery’s return for over three years. Its building received a lashing during Hurricane Ida in August 2021, resulting in its partial collapse and leaving the deli without a roof for weeks. Tusa has faced an uphill battle in rebuilding it since, but remained committed to bringing back the New Orleans landmark for as long as it took to do so.

The entirely rebuilt Decatur Street space looks mostly familiar, still narrow and simple but with brand new floors, cabinetry, deli cases, counters, and ceiling, now with the addition of being wheelchair accessible. It’s stocked from floor to ceiling with some of New Orleans’s most-loved products — sauces, spices, mixes, spreads, and more — making it a one-stop shop for visitors looking to take home a piece of the city. Still, Tusa caters to Central Grocery’s local audience, opting to rebuild as close to its original state as was practical and stay true to its rich past.

Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images

The history of the muffuletta in New Orleans is storied. Between 1884 and 1924, nearly 300,000 mostly Sicilian immigrants moved to New Orleans, transforming the French Market neighborhood into what was called “Little Palermo,” ripe with family grocery stores, pushcarts, and Italian wares. Salvatore Lupo was among them, opening Central Grocery across from the French Market in 1906. Sicilian workers often stopped into Lupo’s shop for bread, olives, cold cuts, and cheese for lunch, standing up or balancing a plate on their laps due to a lack of tables. As the story goes, Lupo was inspired to sandwich the ingredients all together, using bread as big as a plate. The name muffuletta comes from the bread itself — soft, round, flat, and sesame-seeded.

The iconic sandwich, which is the only one Central Grocery sells, is layered with olive salad, Genoa salami, ham, mortadella, provolone, and Swiss cheese, and is served cold. It travels exceptionally well, which became key to its enduring prevalence while the deli was closed — the sandwiches were made in Kenner and sold at other locations around town, including the wine shop next door to Central Grocery, Sidney’s.

Beginning Saturday, December 14 Central Grocery is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.