New Italian-style deli, sandwich and sweets shop opens in downtown Yorkville

Lovers of Italian-style sandwiches and those who have a sweet tooth will have a new spot to try in downtown Yorkville starting Friday, June 15.

Capitano Deli & Sweets, at 220 S. Bridge St. in downtown Yorkville opened Friday starting at 10 a.m. The store will be open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to its website, Capitanodeli.com.

Capitano features cold and hot sandwiches, soups, and salads, as well as Boar's Head meat and cheese by the pound. In addition to the deli, a sweets shop in the store, called Piccolo & Dolce, features old fashioned candy like salt water taffy sold in bulk, as well as stuffed animals and other small toys for sale.

B.J. Gerl of Yorkville, who owns the store with his wife Lyneen, opened the shop in part to give teens and young adults with disabilities a place to work, even if it's for a couple hours a week.

The deli features cold sandwiches, such as the Italian with salami, pepperoni, capicola, prosciutto, provolone, mozzarella, lettuce, tomato, red onion, mayo and Italian deli dressing on a baguette, and hot sandwiches such as the London broil with horseradish cheddar, horseradish mayo on sourdough bread. Chips will come with all sandwiches, Gerl said.

Every day they will offer caprese salad, pasta salad, and potato salad, Gerl said.

The shop will deliver free to any business, and to any home for a nominal fee, Gerl said. He said they will also deliver sliced deli meat and cheese by the pound.

Charcuterie boards with specialty meats, cheeses, and fruit, such as grapes and figs, are also available, Gerl said. The chartuterie board will include local Draper's Raw and Local Honey, located in Yorkville, and the shop will sell Draper's honey, he said.

The store also has a license to serve beer and wine, he said. Beers to be served include 312, Goose Island IPA, and Stella Cidre. They are still trying gluten-free beers and will offer some, Gerl said. Gluten-free bread will also be an option, Gerl said.

To comply with fire regulations, they will only be offering sandwiches, chips and caprese salad when they open June 15, but will offer the full menu starting June 25, Gerl said.

Gerl said his 14-year-old son has fragile X syndrome and that he wanted to have somewhere for teens and those in their early 20s with disabilities to work without having to commit to working full shifts. He said some large companies offer jobs for those with special needs but that often they are required to work full shifts.

"If you want to work two hours, you can work two hours," Gerl said. "I will try to be more flexible here."

Gerl said he wants the store to participate as a workplace skills site for teens and young adults ages 16 to 22 with disabilities. He has already hired three such employees, he said.

Gerl said there will always be volunteer job coaches with the employees with disabilities to help train them. He said he hopes that the young people who are trained will then go on to train new kids as they come on board.

“So there will be some peer-to-peer coaching,” he said.

Gerl said the whole concept of Capitano started with the candy shop, and it grew from there.

“With the special needs kids, I always wanted a place where the kids could go, and the candy store was it,” he said.

Gerl said Capitano is his Sicilian grandmother’s name.

The store will eventually offer Italian pastry specialties like cannoli, biscotti, and pizzelles.

The candy store will allow kids of all ages to buy candy by the piece and by the pound.

"A kid could walk in here and get nine pieces of candy for a dollar," he said.

Gerl said downtown is the perfect location, particularly with YPAC located next door. He said people can bring their kids in to get a sandwich or a treat.

"This is a little different niche," he said. "It's not a bar atmosphere."