Can't get to the deli? It'll come to you

A&N Italian Deli, which has operated along busy U.S. 19 in Clearwater for the last 28 years, is finding a way around a long-term highway construction project that has substantially reduced its customer traffic.

Rather than hoping drivers can still get into the only entrance to Allen's Creek shopping center, where it's the only remaining tenant, the deli now offers delivery service and offsite catering to longtime customers, which include other nearby businesses being affected by the roadwork. It's also offering two-for-one dinners and other specials.

“We're trying to maintain the relationships that may have left due to this,” Mario Pierluca, an employee and nephew of deli owner Nancy Pisani Bowers, tells Coffee Talk. He says some customers have lost patience with the deli over the construction problem, while others still make the extra effort to go into the 1,400-square-foot restaurant.