Economy & Business

Mom’s Deli reopening brings hour-long lines to St. Louis Hills

St. Louis Public Radio | By Lara Hamdan

Published September 5, 2025 at 2:26 PM CDT

Rod Alton, 34, of Shrewsbury, walks to his car after ordering lunch at the newly re-opened Mom’s Deli on Hampton Avenue on Friday in the St. Louis Hills neighborhood. “They're probably the best spot in St. Louis," Alton said. "This is the Michael Jordan of the sandwich shops, I'm not gonna lie to you." — Rod Alton, 34, of Shrewsbury, walks to his car after ordering lunch at the newly re-opened Mom’s Deli on Hampton Avenue on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in the St. Louis Hills neighborhood. “They're probably the best spot in St. Louis," Alton said. "This is the Michael Jordan of the sandwich shops, I'm not gonna lie to you."

For Mom’s Deli, word of mouth about its revival traveled fast.

The beloved sandwich shop quietly re-opened its doors on Wednesday — and have sold hundreds of sandwiches without officially announcing its re-opening at 5425 Hampton Ave.

“I don’t know that we needed one, being on Hampton,” said longtime store manager Danielle Bellm. The new location store in St. Louis Hills is bigger than the original location in Lindenwood Park, which closed in February.

Customers from across the region lined up on Friday — some for more than an hour and from as far away as Bonne Terre — to buy their favorite subs, including the Mom’s Special: turkey, ham, roast beef, pizza cheese, fixings and 1000 Island dressing.

“[The reception] has definitely been amazing, we missed them too,” Bellm said.

For longtime customer Rod Alton of Shrewsbury, the high turnout and lines wrapping around the building was not a surprise. He found out about the re-opening on Facebook.

“This is the Michael Jordan of sandwich shops,” Alton said. “The day it opened was the day we came. … It was the greatest feeling, like being a kid in the candy store.”

Among those waiting in line to order on Friday was Fenton resident Lora Turner and her dog Kazoo. She found out about the re-opening from a TikTok video.

“I’m getting five Mom’s Special sub sandwiches to take to Dobbs for my husband’s crew. So I’m going to have them cut them up, and they’re going to have Mom’s Deli for lunch today,” Turner said.

Aimee Wood, 36, of Affton, shows off the Mom’s Special at the newly re-opened Mom’s Deli on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in the St. Louis Hills neighborhood. — Aimee Wood, 36, of Affton, shows off the Mom’s Special at the newly re-opened Mom’s Deli on Friday.

She also ordered a Mom’s Special for Kazoo.

“She’s been waiting very patiently,” Turner said, adding she hopes to see more Mom’s Deli locations in the future.

Bellm, who’s worked at Mom's Deli for 20 years, said the deli’s consistency is a big part of why its fans love it.

“We’ve stayed the same. Same recipes. Same recipes. Same meats. The only thing that’s changed is the cheese because they stopped making it,” Bellm said. “But I mean [Dolores Vago] tried to keep everything exactly the same as her dad and uncle did it.”

Bellm also noted that the staff also returned with the shop’s reopening. “It’s definitely like a little family,” she said.

The deli’s temporary hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

St. Louis Public Radio's Brian Munoz contributed to this report.