KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
Maria’s Italian Deli in Newhall closed permanently Tuesday after operating out of the same building for nearly 50 years.
On Tuesday, Oct. 13, a sign appeared in the window at Maria’s Deli on Lyons Avenue that reads “CLOSED PERMANENTLY, 
thanks for your patronage, 47 years of serving Santa Clarita.”
The deli was known for its pizzas, subs and Italian market, but loved for its hometown ownership, Maria Simione, who had operated since 1973.
“(Maria’s) closed officially last Tuesday because on Wednesday Maria and I went over there and got the keys,” said Bruno Colombo, son of Maria and co-owner of the Deli. “They surrendered the space to us then.”
Maria and Bruno ran the business together until 2017, when they sold Maria’s to Deanna and Will Rivera, but still owned the property where the restaurant and adjacent gym are located.
“I worked there over 30 years,” Colombo added, “I was co-owner for 17 of those years, and then we sold it to Will and Deanna (Rivera).”
When the restaurant closed, Colombo called the ongoing national pandemic the “final nail in the coffin,” citing that the business struggled since it had sold. According to Colombo, the current owners were seeking to sell the restaurant in January of this year.
“It’s emotional for my mother,” Colombo added. “She would like to see it continue on. For me, I’m emotional when I’m in the place. Ultimately, I want what’s best for my family when we put a tenant in and another restaurant — preferably an Italian restaurant.”
Because Maria and Bruno own the property, they are looking forward to future tenants who can step up and bring fresh life to the restaurant, but it doesn’t have to stay “Maria’s.”
“It’s 50/50 the name stays under Maria’s,” Columbo said. “I didn’t expect this kind of response right away. Just by word of mouth, five different parties came forward that are interested. What their ideas are… we prefer someone who has experience in a restaurant.”
Colombo added that he’d like to see Maria’s Deli expanded to have a wine bar or possibly live entertainment in the future.
Because of the strong response to the closure, Colombo sees the restaurant coming back as soon as 2021, depending on the changes and licenses required for the new ownership.
“It could be next year sometime, after upgrades and renovations,” he said. “Some of the old employees would like to be asked to come back and work for whoever the new owner is… I feel bad for the employees that worked there for 35 years like (Manny and Patty).”
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Ive been a longtime friend and customer of this great Santa Clarita landmark and the Simione and Colombo family. “The Deli”, will hopefully again flourish one day soon.
This is Gavin’s model. Let the mom and pop shops shutter to be replaced by State-run soup kitchens. Meanwhile, his winery and management business continue to thrive.
I can go get a sandwich and a side at a local grocery store deli with no problem but can’t support a small business with far less people in it? Hey Gavin don’t forget to wash an expensive pint of aunt Nancy’s ice cream down with a glass of your wineries finest-Stay classy!
Let’s recap on NEWSOMS July 1, 2020 new plan that he calls his “dimmer switch” approach to reopening California.
June 11, 2020
Disneyland Expected To Reopen In July with Social Distancing, Not yet.
Movie Theaters Allowed To Reopen In California with Limited Capacity, that didn’t last long.
June 19, 2020
Nail Salons, Tattoo Shops, Casinos Allowed To Reopen In Los Angeles County
“Yesterday, L.A. County announced another step in our road map to recovery by reopening additional services and recreational activities,” Barger said, huh.
June 26, 2020
“We have the capacity and ability to toggle back in terms of the stay-at-home order,” Newsom said during a press conference on Thursday.
Ya think
June 28, 2020
L.A. County was granted a variance by the state in May which allows for a phased reopening, but the governor said he is able to slow down, or even reverse the reopening process, wow,
July 1, 2020
Indoor operations for restaurants, entertainment centers and other businesses are closed in California by Governor Gavin Newsom for at least three weeks. Three weeks, ok
July 13, 2020 During Governor Gavin Newsom’s Monday update, it was announced that gyms, salons and places of worship are to close again in Los Angeles County. Huh.
Aug. 28, 2020
So then, Gavin Newsom introduced a “new and improved criteria” for reopening, which consisted of Four Tiers, that outa fix it,
Under his new and improved criteria, select monitored counties, including Los Angeles County, are to cease again indoor operations in fitness centers, places of worship, offices for non-critical sectors, personal care services, hair salons, barbershops and malls, according to the Governor’s office. I guess he’s got a plan,
October 21, 2020
Kathryn Barger announced that the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health would be updated “later this week” to allow family entertainment centers to re-open outdoor operations, additionally, breweries and wineries within Los Angeles County would no longer need to “require customers to order food or reserve a seat ahead of time”. Gee, thanks
Hey- If you jokers want to politicize this, please put the blame where it belongs… with the do-nothing but whine and play golf president who called it a hoax and still has no plan to fight the pandemic more than half-way through October. Just another reason he is going down to a humiliating defeat following the November 3rd. election. He will be taking a big piece of the Republican party down with him.
Hey- That’s rich coming from one of the many KHTS commenting participants that is most likely to politicize any article,
Newsom, and no one else is calling the shots here Cali, He’s the governor in charge, and lets us know daily, There’s only one clear sign of desperation, and that is not wanting to hear your opponent’s arguments or opinions. The left can never stand on its merits because it simply fails every time. So they resort to obfuscation, disinformation, and of course – unsubstantiated name calling.
Hey Denny California is overwhelmingly democratically controlled so let’s start with that…..
To you know-it all’s here. You constantly want to put a political spin on everything! As a friend of Maria, Bruno, and Manny and a regular customer since 1988, I can tell you the reason Maria’s Deli has closed is directly because of the person Maria sold the business to, Deanna! Not any politician, or any other reason! It’s simple, really. Deanna ran the business Maria spent so many years to make great right into the ground! She was perpetually bitchy and treated customers and employees like crap! She reduced the portions of everything, took away the free pickles and pepperoncinis that you could have as many as you wanted with your meal, left the dining room always dirty and having many tables that needed to be bussed and weren’t, and the men’s bathroom, at least, become so filthy, it smelled like Hussongs Cantina in Ensenada! Literally! That’s the reason why it’s closed! Hopefully, the next person Maria sells the business to keeps it an Italian Restaurant! Regardless, it won’t be like it once was, and I will always miss Maria’s Deli! It was definitely the best in SCV!
So my point AM, as well as many others on this thread, what about,
Mountasia
Farrells
Ice Station
Santa Clarita Lil’ Kickers, Santa Clarita Soccer Center is closing for good
Stein Mart
Mediterranean restaurant King Kogy
Round Table Pizza in Newhall
PizzaRev, a make-your-own pizza chain
Pier 1 imports
Panini Palace in Newhall
Souplantation,
The Doctors’ Office SCV, located on Lyons Avenue
Valencia Laser Blast,
Just to name a VERY, very few locally,
And the many jobs that went with them,
You can’t reason with someone who’s more concerned with free pickles and pepperoncinis during covid than he is with livelihoods and small family businesses…..
Strange, this thread is about just Maria’s! Not the other places you felt the need to address and politicize like you always do! ? Your tired schtick is just that. Tired!! Nobody enjoys your constant mean spirited posts! You and Marco Polo are sad Trolls who just like to start trouble! And that’s all you’re good for! You should find some sort of LIFE and though it may be impossible for you to actually be a happy person, because nobody likes you, you should TRY! Maybe you’ll come across another sick-in-the-head loser you can click with! ?
Arm…THANK YOU for giving the real reason for the closing. We really appreciate it being told the way it is. We loved Maria’s and are sad to see it go, we have lost a great deli!
For those who want to politicize this…Gov Newsom has no choice, he is responsible to keep us all safe. Unlike the person who should be in charge (the current occupant of the White House), he does his job and doesn’t leave it to others to make the tough decisions. Oh and then stands back and places blame on everyone else. So over him…
Sarah
Sounds like by your words that you “ loved Maria’s and are sad to see it go” even knowing that according to AM, that Deanna ran the business Maria spent so many years to make great right into the ground!
And apparently you had no problem that Deanna was a perpetual bitch and treated customers and employees like crap! Not to mention the reduced portions of free pickles and pepperoncini’s, as well as dirty dining rooms, and filthy bathrooms that smelled like Hussongs Cantina in Ensenada! Literally!
Sarah, sorry you lost a great deli!
Yeah, it’s Trump’s fault,
Wow!
PSh*t, Since you just assume things and don’t really understand anything someone says, and enjoy twisting things around to suit your mentally retarded views, nobody cares what you have to say because you have no credibility at all, and you never once have ever said anything constructive here! All you do is stir up the pot and obviously get off on that! Sad, dude……
Sarah and I agree that Maria’s, in its heyday, was a great establishment with great people and food. It has many fans who remember that. It was ruined when Deanna bought the place. That’s what happened. It’s that simple.
Bravo,that was awesome!