New deli and lunch spot coming to Lakewood Ranch

Terry Hamilton said sometimes she just needs to take a drive to get away from her husband. 

She let out a hearty laugh after saying that. She and Brian Hamilton have been married and in business together for 30 years.

“We’re together all the time,” she said.

The couple’s latest venture is the Lakewood Ranch Deli in the San Marco Plaza. The grand opening is on July 29 at 10 a.m. 

One big bonus for the Hamiltons is the location. They love driving their golf cart to work from their home in Riverwalk Grove.

Locals may recognize the pair from the Premier Sports Complex, where they run the concession stand. They also owned and operated Bandit’s Cafe in the Manatee County Judicial Center for four years. 

The couple said the cafe did well until court hearings were held over Zoom because of the COVID pandemic. Bandit’s closed in 2022, but the equipment went into storage. 

Photo by Lesley Dwyer

Brian Hamilton said 70% of the equipment in the deli’s kitchen was brought over from Bandit’s. Not only are the Hamiltons starting a new business with the deli, but they’ll also be expanding their existing business, Hamilton’s Concessions. 

Hamilton's Concessions does a booming box lunch business that caters to teams and corporations. Right now, they can accommodate 250 box lunches at once. After the deli opens, they’ll be able to double that. 

The box lunches include sandwiches made with Boar’s Head deli meat, which will be a staple of the Lakewood Ranch Deli, too.

“We want to bring something a little different to Lakewood Ranch in that we’re a lunch facility,” Brian Hamilton said. “There are thousands of restaurants around here to eat.”

The menu consists of breakfast sandwiches that are served all day, and classic lunch items — soups, salads and sandwiches. It’s a simple menu with simple pricing. If you order turkey on a wrap or roast beef on a sub roll, it’ll cost the same.

“I wanted to make it easy,” Brian Hamilton said. “Sometimes a menu is so confusing that you don’t know what you’re getting."

He said sometimes menus resemble books. 

The prices are still being finalized, but the menu is solid. Chili will be served daily, along with a soup of the day. A dozen soups will rotate in and out to offer a variety. 

Being that the couple is from Ocean City, Maryland, Terry Hamilton will be stirring up some Maryland crab soup.

“It’s a little spicy, but delicious,” she said.

The list of specialty sandwiches includes classic lunch favorites like "Italians" and "Cubans." There are four different ways to order a reuben depending on your favorite meat. 

But behind the menu are a million little things that still have to be ordered and prepared before the deli’s grand opening. 

“I woke up this morning and was like, I forgot the little cups for the French dip,” Brian Hamilton said. 

At the end of the day, he said he wants people to enjoy their meal so much that they come back, and he’s willing to take suggestions. The deli will have a suggestion box for criticism and requests.

The Hamiltons are starting off with the basics to please the masses. You can’t go wrong with ham and turkey, but liverwurst? They’ll wait to see if there’s a demand first.