Sam’s Italian Deli begins work on second Fresno location

Sam’s Italian Deli & Market has started work on a second Fresno location, a move that expands one of the city’s best-known family businesses into north Fresno without closing the original shop on North First Street. The new store is planned for Villaggio Shopping Center at Blackstone and Nees, where demolition was already underway as the Marziliano family moved ahead with a project aimed at giving longtime customers a second place to buy the deli’s food, wine and imported Italian groceries.

The expansion is being built around more than 7,000 square feet by combining three adjacent spaces and one upstairs space inside Villaggio. The current Sierra Nut House space is part of the planned footprint, along with nearby storefronts next to Ulta Beauty. That size matters because it shows the deli is not chasing a temporary pop-up or a scaled-down satellite. It is committing to a full second site that matches the feel and reach of the original market.

The timeline has also shifted in a way that reflects how carefully the family is approaching the move. The deli had previously been looking at a 2025 opening, but the target later moved to spring 2027, with some reporting pointing to early 2027. Nick Marziliano said he had been looking for a space with a similar footprint to the original deli and market, which helps explain why the north Fresno location took time to line up.

That original store, at 2415 N First Street near Clinton Avenue, opened in 1980 when Sam and Angela Marziliano launched the business in Fresno. More than four decades later, the deli is now run by their son, Nick Marziliano, after Sam Marziliano died in 2011. The new location extends that legacy rather than replacing it, keeping the First Street market in place while adding a second foothold in a part of the city where new retail and dining tenants can quickly become part of daily routines.

For Fresno, the project signals that an established local brand still sees room to grow here. Sam’s Italian Deli has long been known for Southern Italian traditions, a strong wine department, signature house-made foods and the kind of neighborhood loyalty that comes from being a Fresno staple since 1980. The Villaggio expansion turns that loyalty into a broader footprint, giving north Fresno residents a second access point to a business that has spent nearly 50 years building its reputation in the San Joaquin Valley.