{"id":1730,"date":"2018-12-02T21:21:38","date_gmt":"2018-12-02T21:21:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tmn.truman.edu\/detours\/?p=1730"},"modified":"2020-10-21T04:14:31","modified_gmt":"2020-10-21T04:14:31","slug":"why-moms-special-is-so-special","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tmn.truman.edu\/detours\/2018\/12\/02\/why-moms-special-is-so-special\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Mom’s Special is so Special"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Adrienne Compton<\/h4>\n

Mom\u2019s Deli<\/a>, a small, Italian, mom and pop shop in the city of St.Louis has visitors who come in from all across the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mom\u2019s Deli began after the original business of \u201cMom\u2019s son,\u201d Charles Vago, closed. Charles Vago used to be an owner of a small convenience store, called The Store, but because of the creation of Highway 44, the connector from the city of St. Louis to West County, the store was forced to shut down because the highway planned to run through the location of the store.<\/span><\/p>\n

Charles and his wife, Carol Vago,  immediately started looking for a place to build their new business, and they found themselves in the bottom of a duplex on Jamieson Avenue. <\/span><\/p>\n

The official opening of Mom\u2019s Deli was June 18th, 1977. Charles Vago named the deli in honor of his mother. With a great amount love for his family and love for his business, Charles had intentions of handing it down to his daughter. His daughter, Denise Vago, had to take the reins sooner than expected when Charles Vago passed away suddenly on August 29th, 2017.<\/span><\/p>\n

Current employee Maggie Mckenna said, \u201cafter 6 plus years of working for Charlie, he made me, and all of his employees, feel like we were a part of his family.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

The family aspect is what makes this place so special, said Mckenna. It is common for customers to come in and ask how Charles Vago\u2019s mother is doing, how the current owner is, or if all of the employees are family.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A Mom’s Special<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mom\u2019s Deli is most famous for their \u201cMom\u2019s Special.\u201d Owner, Denise Vago said, \u201cI grew up in the deli, I occasionally have it for a snack to have a flashback to my childhood.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Mom\u2019s Special consists of white turkey breasts, ham, roast beef, Munchee cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion and handmade thousand island dressing. <\/span><\/p>\n

The famous Munchee cheese and thousand island dressing are what leaves the customers wanting more. Munchee cheese is \u201ca cremier, sweet, mild, white american cheese,\u201d <\/span>Vago said. The thousand island dressing is a family recipe, and it can\u2019t be shared with others.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many customers have a specific order that they come in for, but the customers that visit a few times randomly throughout the year still come in to get their Mom\u2019s Special fix. <\/span><\/p>\n

Frequent customer, Mike Bertolini, used to be a common Mom\u2019s Special consumer, but not too long after his visits he expanded his horizons. \u201cI love the cookies, but nobody else orders a frozen one like me. That\u2019s the best way to do it.\u201d Bertolini said. <\/span><\/p>\n

Bertolini has been coming into Mom\u2019s Deli since he made the decision to move back to St. Louis 21 years ago. \u201cI love the girls that work at Mom\u2019s, they see me and send me a smile, and that\u2019s what I look forward to every day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The deli also has many customers that come in just to shop. Mom\u2019s Deli is also a local convenience store for many people. There is an array of beer, wine, chips, candy, ice cream and other Italian food necessities.<\/span><\/p>\n