Landmark Hermosa: Mickey's Deli

Today's Landmark Hermosa is in south Hermosa Beach on Hermosa Avenue.

The following is an article about the deli published on Patch in March 2011 by Colleen Viana:

When the late Michael Angelo Mance opened the doors to his Italian restaurant  on Hermosa Avenue in 1953, he introduced the South Bay to his family’s secret pasta sauce and sandwich concoctions.

Now most Hermosa Beach natives associate their childhood with the delicatessen. 

Hailing from Bari, Italy, Mance opened his Italian deli in an effort to run a family-friendly business.

Traditional Italian markets like Mickey’s serve more than just staples of Italian cuisine,  such as olive oil or salami.

Delis can also function as community centers, "where Italians could meet friends and paesani (fellow townspeople), exchange news, and speak some Italian," according to the Italian Oral History Institute.

Mickey’s serves delectible sloppy meatball and eggplant Parmesan sandwiches, and custom-built pizzas slathered with Mance’s secret pasta sauce.

Every slice of meat, drip of oil or spread of sauce is homemade. For 58 years, no recipe has changed, which is why when South Bayers visit the famous deli, tastes of their childhood bring back the fondest of memories.

Mickey’s  popularity among the South Bay crowd earned deli awards from Easy Reader’s Best of the Beach for three consecutive years starting in 2007.

Mance died in June 2001 at the age of 70, handing over his deli’s legacy to son Paul and brother Jim.

"Mr. Mance was truly a great guy in the community who would be sorely missed," said former City Councilmember J.R. Reviczky in a council meeting on June 12, 2001.