Mon
Apr 12 2010
10:25 pm
By: EricLykins

I loved this place. I would point newcomers in the direction of it as one of the first things I was proud of this city for having (that, and Ijams). Coury Turczyn loved this place:

Sad, sad news for all sandwich-lovers of Knoxville: Frussie's Deli is no more. Owner James Dicks is leaving the business for extremely personal reasons.

This little deli in the Moody Complex in South Knoxville has been my favorite local sandwich shop of all time, with its own roasted meats and baked breads. (The Italian, warm, was a thing of culinary beauty.)

KnoxGourmet at KNS: "Since Frussie's closed....still looking for a deli!"

Randall Brown recommended that Anthony Bourdain eat there when he was in town.

One of the first mentioned: KnoxBlab, Favorite Deli Sandwich

Solace and cheer in a grilled cheese, local love list, top health score week of May 1, 2009.

"We" are reopening May 1. To me, this is way cooler than getting to live in the Sunsphere. This is an icon, and somebody had to bring it back. Please read more...



continued...


Three of my best friends put some nickels together and Alexandra Spinosa and I are going to be baking bread, making sandwiches (do you remember the potato salad? I had some last week), making this work, and not losing everybody's farm. James and his wife made it happen for 24 years (minus 2 month vacations every year which we will not do to you) and never advertised. It was just that good and we don't want to change anything.** We just want it back.

James never advertised and he was absolutely not open to suggestions. We're starting off with several of his recipes that we absolutely have to have and collecting the rest as we can afford. I get to learn the ways of white and wheat this weekend from James Dicks the man the mystery the legend for starters, so I've got that goin' for me*, but there's going to be a little bit of winging it involved initially and suggestions and memories are plenty welcome - for now. Ben Brooks, if you want to personalize that sandwich upon your triumphant return to Frussie's I won't yell at you. We're doing this for our world-class town. Coury Turczyn, that warm italian will be engineered exactly as you remember, but it may take a practice run or two. If only you believe in lunch like I believe in lunch. This for now is the interview you requested if you have any questions, let's talk sammiches here with the people.

*Should there be some sort of unveiling ceremony for these first loaves? This is kindof a big deal. We are fortunate to have gotten a hold of something very special and we will not let you down.

** Ok, one change for now at least. We hope the tradeoff will be worth it. We will be open longer hours. I remember many times growing up being too hungover to get to the rare roast beef sandwich my soul so desperately needed before 2 pm. On that note, I'm not going in at 2 o'clock in the morning to bake bread, if at some point we can afford to bring on a baker that wants to do that sort of thing...?? For now, we'll do bread after lunch and be open until the bread's done. We believe it to be fair. No cameras will be allowed in the building while bread is being made;) and it's still cash only. (An average of $2 out of every $100 Americans spend goes to transaction fees, and for many businesses, transaction fees are now their highest non-labor cost, growing even faster than health care costs.) Cash only.

Let's do this.

First 100 fans on facebook get their name on the wall beginning with Mark Arnold, Daniel King, Travis Gray,Toni Keeble, Bess Connally, Eric Keeble, Jimmie Warwick, Andrew Bryant, Sandra Anselm (Mom) and Ryan Williams.

Ryan Williams's picture

can't wait, i've heard

can't wait, i've heard nothing but good things about the place, you can count on me being a regular

R. Neal's picture

Ah, so that's what the

Ah, so that's what the cryptic tweet meant. Missed a scoop!

Anyway, congratulations! Look forward to visiting...

jlynn's picture

Tradition...

I'm the election shr'uff (a.k.a. Election Official) at our local precinct. Tradition was that the hubster would bring me lunch when he comes to vote. Last election was first without James' three cheese sub, potato salad and decadent brownie.

Looks like opening will be in time for May 4th election and the tradition continues! Yea...

Good luck with Frussies - we look forward to recommending this fine eatery once again.

Randall Brown's picture

Noble

Best wishes in this endeavor. I look forward to the experience.

I tip my hat, take bow and give a respectful nod to sandwich master James Dicks.

Beci Bolding's picture

Where's the new location

Where's the new location going to be?

EricLykins's picture

Same location, same phone

Same location, same phone number, there's a google maps link in the first sentence of the post above.

Stick's picture

Ya'll gonna have em' er' 5

Ya'll gonna have em' er' 5 dollar footlongs or what, man? ;)

Ken Stuart's picture

I'm so happy to hear the

I'm so happy to hear the news. Best of luck, you'll see me often!

Mendy's picture

Great News!

I would drive all the way from Powell for a Hot Italian Sub. This is great news!

Jimmie Warwick's picture

Egg Salad!

Ya' better make plenty. I haven't had one since July of last year. I'm jonesin' bad!

Terry Maddox's picture

Chicken salad, lettuce & tomato w/extra mayo on whole wheat pita

Please!

EricLykins's picture

The lease has just been

The lease has just been signed. We had hoped to have the whole month of April to tinker around in that building, but you know how things go. We will be there May 1, but you may want to call before you come after that 577-2108, and I can almost guarantee that we will not have everything at first. We'll see what we can learn in the next 11 days; the last thing we want to do is feed you something that tastes unfamiliar. We appreciate your good wishes and hope for a litte:

We will have the full, original menu running as soon as humanly possible. Down the road we can talk about adding things and wishes are welcome (I like that, and think it's going on the counter). Some sort of crazy-good vegetarian sub. Maybe some batches of egg salad without the ham with local eggs. Maybe a winning hummus recipe gets your name on the menu. Maybe there will be soup by fall (until then check out hotmamasoup.com, Casey delivers).

Thank you Metropulse, Knoxville New Sentinel for putting the pressure on, and all of you for your feedback

EricLykins's picture

No soup for you?

bizgrrl's picture

Good luck to you guys! You've

Good luck to you guys! You've got the product, now you need the location. Well, money helps I'm sure.

EricLykins's picture

Thanks! I've got faith in the

Thanks! I've got faith in the current location, but the (well-intentioned-bless-their-hearts) aggressive expansionists of the group have had hurt feelings all the way back to August. Most people just want a good sandwich.

EricLykins's picture

Psst.. guess what?

Psst.. guess what?

WhitesCreek's picture

Where are you located?

Where are you located?

jmcnair's picture

Frussies

fischbobber's picture

Frussies

Finally got over there and my god, it was an epicurean orgasm.

The Italian Sub was the best sandwich I can remember eating and my son said the grilled cheese"was like eating a work of art." (He had it on whole wheat.)

I was amazed at how quickly we were there after crossing the south Knoxville bridge. It's actually easier to get to than your average Waffle House. I'm kicking myself for waiting this long.

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