Denise Gengarella greets everyone who walks through the doors of Guy’s Gourmet by name.
Maybe not that impressive for a small business owner if their eatery has been open for years, but Guy’s Gourmet has been open less than a week. She swears she doesn’t know the names of all the customers, but the person she doesn’t know fails to enter during a recent afternoon lunch day.
And it’s no wonder.
“Everywhere they cook I go,” Mark Kelliher known as Cal said. “There isn’t a town I haven’t followed them to.”
Guy’s Gourmet, an on-the-go deli with breakfast, made-to-order sandwiches, prepared foods and desserts opened on Saturday morning on South Broad Street in Pawcatuck. While the place may be new to the area owners Denise and Guy Gengarella and Michael and Diane Prendiamano are anything but new to town.
Denise is originally from Stonington and locals know Guy from restaurants such as , and . In 2005, Denise and Guy opened Guytanno’s Café in Westerly. It was there they met Michael and Diane who came to eat at Guytanno’s every Friday. Over the years the four became good friends and when Guy and Diane sold Guytanno’s to Guy’s brother the four decided to open a place together.
“Retirement is not what we were use to, and we still too young,” Diane said about deciding to open a place on the barren stretch of roadway between Stonington and Pawcatuck.
They chose the location in part Denise said because there was no place to get any kind of lunch on-the-go in the area. The home-style recipes of lasagna, chicken marsala and stuffed sole are their own recipes. The seafood is all local with the coming from and other seafood coming from . There are cold and hot prepared meals, Lenten specials, sandwiches, soups and specials everyday.
The cooking is all done on the premises, shared between them.
“There’s a lot of synergy in cooking and chemistry,” said Michael a retired chemist now on his second career.
So far they say the most popular items have been the Philly cheese steak sandwich and the New England clam chowder.
It was Kelliher’s first time, and he ordered the Philly cheese steak sandwich. His verdict?
“This is exactly what small towns need,” Kelliher said.
Guy’s Gourmet
210 S. Broad St., Pawcatuck, Conn., 6379
860-599-2222
Mon.-Sat. 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
www.guysgourmetonthego.com
