No soup for you — at least not from Naples’ “Soup Nazi” anymore. Marci Redding has retired after more than 35 years of berating indecisive customers at Larry’s Lunch Box Delicatessen in East Naples.
While not resorting to the dismissive extreme of “The Soup Nazi” character on the “Seinfeld” sitcom, Redding did not suffer fools gladly at her service counter.
“If they looked up at that board that was on the wall for 35 years, they were getting yelled at,” daughter Kimberly Redding Johnston said.
“Don’t look at the board. That’s not the menu,” Marci Redding would snap at customers holding up the lunch line.
“She didn’t have time to even discuss or try to have that customer-service attitude because she was so busy doing so many other things. She was wearing the hat of a cook and a prep person and a dishwasher and a phone answerer and a cashier and a waitress,” her daughter said. “If nobody listened to her, if they didn’t stand where she wanted them to stand, then she would really get worked up.”
Some customers were offended, but many more were amused and kept coming back for more.
And so did Marci “The Boss” Redding, who cherished her role and the persona she created over the years. “One-hundred percent,” her daughter said. “And she lived up to it, too. She loved it.”
Marci and her husband, Larry Redding, both retired at the end of March after selling the original location of Larry’s Lunch Box they co-founded in 1987. The new owner is Oscar Ortiz, who has been the chef at the popular eatery for five years. Ortiz purchased the local business from the Reddings in an asset sale, effective April 1, that included the Larry’s Lunch Box name and recipes.
The restaurant near the Collier County Government Center at 2650 Airport Road S. will operate with a slightly different name — Larry’s Lunch Box Catering Corp. — while the second location of Larry’s Lunch Box Delicatessen at 870 Neapolitan Way in Naples will continue to be operated as usual by the Reddings’ daughter and her husband, Kevan Johnston, who launched the spinoff in 2012.
While Larry and Marci Redding don’t have specific retirement plans, they agreed that it was time to step away from their restaurant business.
“That place was literally their life. Even on their days off they were there. So, it’s going to be quite an adjustment for them,” their daughter said. “After almost 40 years, to hand over the keys, I can only imagine how they felt. In a way, I’m sure relieved, but still, it’s hard to let it go.”
The business was always a family affair, even for the younger generation.
“My brother, Sean, and I grew up there. We used to go there after school,” Kimberly Redding Johnston said. “On days off, after soccer games, we’d have little parties and stuff there.”
The mom-and-pop deli features a kosher-style menu of specialty sandwiches, soups and traditional deli options named after family and friends.
“The Reuben is by far the most popular sandwich on the menu,” she said. “Then, second, to follow would be just corned beef, rye, mustard and pastrami, rye, mustard. We have a specialty one on the menu that’s a choice between corned beef or pastrami and then it’s got Swiss cheese, coleslaw and Russian dressing and like a schmear of chopped liver. That one’s kind of big and it’s a signature sandwich for here because you’re not finding that anywhere else.”
The old Larry’s under new ownership has a new logo and and website at larryslunchbox.net. Ortiz and his family will continue to serve Larry’s favorite sandwiches, soups and salads plus some new menu additions, such as a falafel pita. As the new name suggests, the East Naples business includes catering, too.
Meanwhile, nothing is changing at the Reddings’ longtime Neapolitan Way location off U.S. 41 in Naples. Note that it has its own website, larryslunchbox.com.
