On the corner of Macklind and Daggett avenues, a small deli has been feeding The Hill since 1918. Gioia’s Deli, at 1934 Macklind Ave., began as a neighborhood grocery and became one of St. Louis’s best-known sandwich shops, built almost entirely around one unusual item: hot salami.
A grocery from Marcallo
The business was started by an immigrant from Marcallo, a town in northern Italy. Most sources, including the Riverfront Times and St. Louis Magazine, call him Charlie Gioia; the James Beard Foundation’s 2017 profile spells his name Challie. For its first decades the shop was a small grocery serving Hill families. The second generation of the family, brothers Steve and John Gioia, still owned it in 1980, according to the Riverfront Times.
The James Beard Foundation adds a detail about the building itself: it was built with brick and wood salvaged from the 1904 World’s Fair.
The hot salami
Gioia’s signature is a sandwich that confuses first-timers. The “hot” refers to temperature, not spice. According to the James Beard Foundation, it is a fresh sausage, boiled rather than cured, whose largely secret recipe combines beef, meat from the pig’s head and seasonings, with a peppery finish. St. Louis Magazine describes it as based on a salam de testa recipe that the founder created more than a century ago. It is sliced to order while still warm, and the Riverfront Times reported in 2022 that the deli was making close to 4,000 pounds of it each week.
The Donley family
In 1980 the Gioia family sold the business to the Donleys, who still run it. Accounts of who made the purchase differ. The Riverfront Times says Arlene Donley bought the store from Steve and John Gioia, second-generation members of the founding family, and ran it with her daughter Cathy; the James Beard Foundation credits Cathy Donley with the 1980 purchase. Both agree that the Donleys turned the grocery into a lunch spot focused on sandwiches.
According to the Riverfront Times, Cathy ran the deli on her own from 1990, with her three sons helping after school. Her son Alex Donley, who has two older brothers, was offered the business in 2014 and became the full owner in 2016. His wife, Amanda, manages the business side. In a September 2025 segment, First Alert 4 described Alex as the person running the deli today.
An American Classic
In 2017 the James Beard Foundation named Gioia’s one of its America’s Classics, an award that, in KSDK’s description, recognizes restaurants with timeless appeal. St. Louis Magazine calls it the first St. Louis-area restaurant to be so honored. The deli marked its 100th anniversary on May 24, 2018, with $5 hot salami sandwiches at its three locations and a block party at the Hill shop.
Gioia’s today
The Hill shop remains the flagship, but Gioia’s has grown well beyond Macklind Avenue. Locations added over the past decade include:
- Downtown St. Louis (2016), which closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, per the Riverfront Times
- Creve Coeur, 623 N. New Ballas (2018)
- Maryland Heights, 11855 Adie Rd. (2022)
- Valley Park, 922 Meramec Station Rd. (2023)
- O’Fallon, 9955 Winghaven Blvd., announced in November 2024 for a December opening
As of October 2026, the deli’s website lists all five current locations, with The Hill first. For more neighborhood food history, see our guide on where to get toasted ravioli on The Hill.
For more on the neighborhood’s past, see our History of The Hill timeline.
Sources: James Beard Foundation, Riverfront Times, St. Louis Magazine (centennial), St. Louis Magazine (Valley Park), KSDK, First Alert 4 (2024), First Alert 4 (2025), Gioia’s Deli, Wikipedia
