Louise Bolger | SUN\
Scott Mason and Trudy Hussey are ready to serve
you signature gourmet sandwiches.
Picture this – you're lounging on the beach the sun is shining, the Gulf water is that ideal color, and there's a soft breeze. The only problem is it's getting near lunch time, and the last thing you want to do is give up your perfect spot on the beach and get in the car. Well, the only thing you actually have to do is move your fingers to dial Scott's Deli, and someone will bring lunch right to your beach chair.
Scott Mason and his mother, Trudy Hussey, opened Scott's Deli in April last year. Mason was working for six years as a chef in a golf and country club in Kansas when his mother discovered Anna Maria Island after visiting some relatives. It didn't take too many visits to the Island before she told her son that this would be a great place to open a restaurant and to raise his children. And it didn't take Mason too many on line searches to find the perfect spot for his gourmet deli.
Mason and Hussey put their own stamp on the petite space painting the walls sky blue, adding a mermaid painting and setting up an inside and outside bar for in house dining as well as two outside tables. But what they really changed was the menu, starting with Scott Mason's signature sandwiches and homemade baked goods.
Some of Scott's Deli gourmet sandwiches are chicken banh mi wrap, which is buffalo chicken with vegetables and spicy Asian cream sauce in a spinach wrap; turkey bacon, avocado sandwich; Italian sandwich and BBQ turkey ranch wrap. There are also hot sandwiches like Reubens, Cubans, tuna melts and more. They also have a weekly sandwich special and the week I was there it was turkey, bacon, brie, arugula, sweet pepper jam, roasted apples on a ciabatta roll, really a meal between two slices of bread.
And the sandwiches are just the beginning, Scott's also has some unique breakfast choices like peameal bacon, provolone, red pepper jelly and fried egg on an English muffin, and steak and eggs made with roast beef, peppers and onions, Swiss, garlic aioli on a ciabatta roll . You can of, course, create your own sandwich with one of the Boar's Head meats, cheeses, toppings, sauces and breads.
They also make their own salads including chicken, potato, pasta and others. All of their bakery items are homemade with a weekly cheese cake special. Wednesday is locals' day, so those of us fortunate enough to live here full time can get 20 percent off all sandwiches.
A big part of Scott's Deli's business is delivery. They deliver to a large portion of the Island as well as to the beach. Just call, place your order tell them which beach access you're near and the color of your umbrella, and before you can say, "There goes another dolphin," lunch will be delivered via golf cart or motor bike. Shortly Scott's will be carrying beer and wine, and they also have a catering menu for business breakfasts and luncheons, wedding parties, and other events.
Mason, Hussey and their four employees are pretty busy these days but may be getting some help when Scott's wife, Jamie, and two of his three daughters, Logan, Morgan and Braxten arrive on Anna Maria after the school year. Jamie will become an important part of the business, and, hopefully, Logan will create a few more paintings for the walls to add to the one already there.
So keep the beach chair and umbrella in place and your cell phone handy for those days you just don't want to move, and for all the other days, drive on over to Scott's Deli in Holmes Beach and get ready to be wowed.
SCOTT'S DELI
5337 Gulf Drive
Holmes Beach
Trolley stop #15
941-778-3000
9 a.m. to 4 p.m., daily
All major credit cards accepted
www.scottsdeliannamaria.com
Wednesday is Locals' Day with 20 percent off all sandwiches