About - Santoro's Italian Market and Deli

About Santoro’s Italian Deli

Please place your order via phone before coming to the deli during the lunch rush hours.

Due to the volatility of the market for our supplies, prices may change without notice.

Right now we have a large volume of people calling in lunch orders all at the same time. If you get our answering machine, please do not leave a message. It means that we are helping customers on the other line. Please call back to speak to one of us. If you don’t want to wait, please call in your order earlier in the day. We won’t make your order until you are coming to pick it up.

Due to the increase in telephone orders during lunch, we cannot accept toasted sandwich orders after 11AM. Please call early if you want a toasted sandwich.

If a customer requests “special packaging” such as halves wrapped separately or pickles on the side, there will be an extra charge.

Meatball sandwiches are only available on Friday. They are subject to availability and may not be customized. When you order a meatball sandwich, you will receive it as Mike makes it.

Please visit our About page for more ordering information.

Frequently asked questions

We serve you the food we eat! We always offer excellent service, sometimes with a little attitude.
All of our bread is soft. It is delivered every morning, we do not use day old bread, with the exception of the sliced bread. We do not serve the sliced bread if it is less than perfect.
Three people run our deli. We cut everything fresh-to-order for every sandwich. To decrease your waiting time, PLEASE call ahead, especially if you have a special request.
Due to COVID-19, we have a large volume of people calling in lunch orders all at the same time. If you get our answering machine, please do not leave a message. It means that we are helping customers on the other line. Please call back to speak to one of us. If you don’t want to wait, please call in your order earlier in the day. We won’t make your order until you are coming to pick it up.
When you walk in, there are order forms on the counter. Use a highlighter to select your choices clearly so we can read them. If your order is unclear, it will slow down the process for all our other orders after you and make people wait unnecessarily.
If there are high school students in the store, please understand that they have called in their orders in advance and will get their sandwiches first. The ones who didn't call must be prioritized to get back to school on time; they come every day.
Michael strongly suggests that you do not put all the available vegetables and condiments on your sandwiches. Why? Because we serve only the highest quality Boar's Head and imported meats, and we want you to be able to taste them! If you're not sure what goes best on your sandwich, ask us!
We do not allow substitutions on the Combo sandwiches, only deletions.
Due to the increase in telephone orders during lunch, we cannot accept toasted sandwich orders after 11AM. Please call early if you want a toasted sandwich. Toasting a sandwich costs $2.00 in addition to the sandwich price because we bake each one in the oven and requires up to 30 mins to prepare from time of order.
If you want a specific bread or roll, (i.e. Dutch crunch or sourdough) please call ahead to make sure it hasn't sold out and we can hold it for you.
All of the products in our deli (salads, chips, pastas, sweets, drinks, etc.) are on the shelves for a reason. If people don’t like them or buy them, we get rid of them. We only carry what sells.
We do not work with any delivery services like DoorDash or Postmates or Uber Eats. Please come visit us yourself.
We do not have a bathroom for customer use.
If you have questions that are not answered here, please call the deli before 11AM or after 1:30PM, otherwise we will be too busy to answer your questions.
When in doubt, call us! Whether you want to dine in, take out, or schedule catering, calling directly helps us to expedite all orders so that no one has to wait, including you!

Santoro’s Italian Market & Deli

475 Santa Clara Ave.
Alameda, CA 94501‭
510 217-8710‬ • SantorosAlameda.com

Hours

Mon – Fri	10:30AM – 3PM (or when the bread runs out)
Saturday	11:00AM – 3PM (or when the bread runs out)
Sunday	CLOSED

About Heidi and Michael Santoro

Michele (Michael) Santoro was born in Rome in 1972 and came to the U.S. when he was 3 years old. He settled with his parents in Hollywood California. Michele’s learned Italian cooking at his mother’s side and began work at Andre’s Italian Deli on Vermont Avenue in Hollywood at age 12. Here Michael learned both the business and the art of real Italian sandwich making.

Heidi Santoro was born in 1970 in Livermore California. Heidi and Mike met Hollywood in 1995 and moved to Alameda in 2009.

Heidi had always wanted to open and run her own business. Combining Heidi’s desire to run a business with Michael’s love of Italian cooking was the perfect recipe for success. Thus was born Santoro’s Italian Market and Deli in 2009.

Mike and Heidi’s philosophy is simple; make the best and freshest real Italian sandwiches served personally by Mike, Heidi and their staff. Mike and Heidi look forward to serving you soon.