Dee Felice Market carries on DeFelice legacy in Mainstrasse — the ‘perfect pantry’

By Andy Furman
NKyTribune reporter

The address – iconic. You know it – 529 Main, Covington.

This was year forty for the famed Dee Felice Café. “My dad and I opened it for business, and we signed the papers March 9, 1984,” daughter Shelly told the Northern Kentucky Tribune on the eve of Covington’s Oktoberfest festivities.

“Their family (the Felice’s) put down the groundwork for everything that is now,” said Tony Noll, a 50-year Covington resident. “There would be no Main Strasse if not for the DeFelice Family.

“Honestly,” he continued, “They were, perhaps the first people to put a white table cloth restaurant in Covington.”

Dee Felice Café served New Orleans-style cuisine and offered live jazz performances. In 2021, the cafe was taken over by local restaurant entrepreneur DJ Thomas, who maintained the name and menu.

Ah, the menu – Cajun offerings such as barbequed shrimp, jambalaya, crawfish etouffee, fried catfish sandwiches and shrimp po boys.

Today, the 529 Main address is alive and well, thank you. It is the home of the Dee Felice Market – owned and operated by Shelly DeFelice and husband Patrick.

“We call ourselves the perfect pantry,” Shelly tells the Northern Kentucky Tribune , “because we have a little bit of everything.”

That is an understatement.

Patrick makes fresh bread daily. “We get our produce from Fries Brothers,” Patrick says, “and our ground beef from Indiana.”

As for the bread, Patrick makes his Rosemary Onion. “And I’ll do salted rye and baguettes on the weekend,” he said. “The chicken salad is our most popular dish. We smoke it in-house.”

And, there’s wine on the shelf as well.

But what about that famous restaurant that bore their name? Any chance of a repeat?

“We were looking for an exit plan before Covid hit,” Shelly said, “And, there’s no chance of another restaurant.”

The Dee Felice Market – open six-days-a-week – opened for business February 20, 2021.

“Actually,” Shelly explained, “Our market was one of the four dining rooms that occupied the café.”

Business, she claims is strong.

And their bookkeeper watches the numbers with an iron fist. Did we mention that’s Shelly’s mom – Shirley Felice. Make that 96-year-old and spry – Shirley Felice.

“Mom keeps the books,” Shelly quickly made that point, as the bookkeeper entered the establishment.

What about the old place, Shirley?

“Well, my husband wanted a place to store his drums so he wouldn’t have to move them all the time,” she said.

Shirley was talking about the man whose name was on the restaurant – Emidio Dante DeFelice.

“Everyone called him ‘D’,” Shirley said, “because the kids and teacher’s in school couldn’t say his name.”

Maybe so – but they certainly found his eating establishment.

Today, they are flocking the market that bears his name.

Dee Felice Market: 529 Main Street, Covington: Tues-Fri 11-7; Sat 10-7; Sun 10-6; Closed Monday.

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