Steve's Deli re-opening in downtown Jackson delayed again. Get the details

The long awaited re-opening of Steve's Deli has been postponed again.

It has been a whirlwind couple of years at the eatery. Michael Longo, who along with Ashley Davis, is taking over ownership from Daniel Fairly, who has purchased the iconic brand in May 2023.

Prior to that, Steve Long and his wife, Julie, owned the restaurant for more than 20 years before they retired and moved to Pennsylvania to be closer to family.

Longo and Davis said that since September 2023, they had been looking for a way to purchase the restaurant, which has been closed for the past month as negotiations have been ongoing with Fairly.

Longo and Davis had said the re-opening would happen Monday , but they were not able to make that happen.

"There is still some renovating of the bakery going on that we didn't anticipate," Longo told the Clarion Ledger by text on Sunday. "With that being said we are unable to prep anything to serve for (Monday) as of right now. Steve’s will be back open this week though."

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Longo said that other than last-minute details, he and Davis do not expect any more snags in the process.

"We just need to finish up the renovations and get everything back in place and then a good wipe down of the restaurant, and we will be ready," Longo said.

When the restaurant does open, restaurant goers should expect the same Steve's they have come to enjoy over the past 20 years, Davis said last week.

"It's going to be all of the great food that we have done before," she said. "Michael is still going to be making his focaccia and the cookies. We may have a few new interesting items that we add here and there for specials, but really everything will be the same."

Ross Reily can be reached by email at rreily@gannett.com or 601-573-2952. You can follow him on Twitter @GreenOkra1.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Steve's Deli re-opening in downtown Jackson delayed again. Get the details