Central Grocery and Deli

History

Central Grocery was opened in 1906 by Salvatore Lupo, a Sicilian immigrant, as an importer of Italian foods. The muffuletta was born here that same year: watching Sicilian farmers at the nearby French Market balance bread, meats, cheese, and marinated olives separately on their laps, Lupo layered it all onto a single round muffuletta loaf and a New Orleans icon was made. More than a century later it's still family-run on Decatur Street, slicing the same meats and mixing the same olive salad that made it famous.