A classic in Fresno’s Tower District changing hands. Why you may recognize the new owners
Piemonte’s Italian Delicatessen on Olive Avenue in the Tower District is in the process of getting new owners.
It’s not a done deal yet — escrow still hasn’t closed on the sale of the business — but if all goes as planned, there will be some new faces running the Italian deli and sandwich shop that’s been around since 1929.
Piemonte’s manager Madison “Maddie” Lindsey Martinez and her mom, Julie “Jules” Lindsey Catanzarite, are buying the business. Tower District regulars may know the former if they’ve ever been in the deli and the latter from her time managing Livingstone’s Restaurant & Pub, another Tower favorite.
“We wanted someone to continue the legacy — not just someone to come in without any experience — someone who has the heart of it,” said current owner Nancy Eberwein, who has owned the business for the past 24 years with husband Neil.
The Eberweins want people to know that not much is going to change. They will stay on after the transition, which may not be finalized until the end of January or February.
“My husband is still going to make the sausage,” she said. (That sausage is apparently quite the favorite at Piemonte’s — not fatty, prime ingredients, a favorite of Italian families, said Eberwein.)
The health department is requiring some changes before the handover can happen, including new flooring, a three-compartment sink, etc.
Who are the new owners?
The Eberweins decided to sell, saying they are getting older and were looking for new blood to take over Piemonte’s. They got all sorts of offers for the shop, but wanted someone who had experience and who would continue the legacy.
So they offered it to the Lindseys.
Lindsey Martinez has worked at Piemonte’s for seven years, since she was 18. She become manager three years ago.
“I love working here,” she said. “I love the customers that we get in. We do get some cranky ones, but you’ve got to smile through it. My employees are great. The area is nice.”
Her mom quit her job at Livingstone’s and will focus on Piemonte’s.
The history of Piemonte’s
The younger Lindsey remembers going to Piemonte’s when she was a kid with her mom. That’s something her predecessor, Neil Eberwein, also remembers doing.
There was sawdust on the floor at the time and the business was at B and Fresno streets, on the corner where a FoodMaxx is now.
Piemonte’s was one of three restaurants named as potentially the oldest restaurant in town in Fresno Bee story last summer.
It was founded by Gino and Olga “Mama” Porasso, who named it after the region in Italy. The business moved to its current location in 1966. Their sons Larry and Joe took over before they sold it to the Eberweins.
“It’s just really nice to carry on a tradition that has been almost 100 years,” Lindsey Martinez said.
This story was originally published January 10, 2025 at 11:12 AM.
