Hot salami sandwiches and cold beer were staples of the menu at College Street Deli, a longtime downtown Tempe eatery and hangout that closed this summer.
But now the deli's location - on College Avenue between Seventh Street and University Drive - could become a Subway restaurant, instead known for its daily $2.49 sandwich deals.
Tony Wall, president of 3W Companies, a Scottsdale-based developer, said he bought the deli's former space in August after it shut down.
The plan is to relocate a restaurant from the Arches, a shopping plaza near University Drive and Forest Avenue, in order for the restaurant to remain close to downtown Tempe, said Wall, who also owns the Arches.
That restaurant could be Subway, but no final deals have been made yet, he added.
"We're looking at all of the options as to who would be the best tenant for that space," he said.
The Arches will be demolished early next year to make way for Wall's University Square project, which would include high-rise offices, hotel and condominium space.
The owner of College Street Deli, Benjamin E. Kelley, could not be reached for comment.
English literature senior Lora Hicks said she only went to College Street Deli once every few months, but loved their salami sandwiches.
"They were hot and the bread was good," Hicks said. "Nobody ever makes hot salami sandwiches anymore."
The deli also made the area around ASU more unique, Hicks said.
"It [was] an ASU thing," she said. "It wasn't something someone on the East Coast or even another school would know about."
Chemistry senior Richard Cornwall said he liked College Street Deli for its cheap yet delicious sandwiches.
"Subway is just not very tasty," Cornwall said. "College Street Deli's sandwiches were just a lot more flavorful."
David Candioto, director of operations for Desert Subway, which owns the Arches Subway store, said he didn't know of any plans to move the store to a new location.
Ali Ferrari, an employee at Cupz, The Coffee Experience, which is located across the street from the former deli, said College Street Deli's closing was sad because she and her friends ate there twice a week.
"They didn't have the greatest food, but you could go there and hang out," Ferrari said. "You always see people [you knew] there."
Interdisciplinary studies senior Alycia Sparks said she liked College Street Deli for its sense of solitude.
College Street Deli was a place where a student could get good food and study
because it was quiet, she
said.
"When I noticed it was gone, it was like, 'Dang, my place is gone,'" Sparks said.
But Sparks, who now goes to Pita Pit or Extreme Pita for lunchtime study sessions, said she isn't bothered by the
possibility of Subway moving in.
"A sandwich is a sandwich," she said.
Reach the reporter at: grayson.steinberg@asu.edu.
