The chicken parmesan sandwich from Olivella’s Italian Deli includes breaded chicken breast, house mozzarella and sauce. Photography by Nancy Farrar.
Olivella’s Pizza and Wine and Olivella’s Italian Deli closed Feb. 24 in Deep Ellum, owner Charlie Green said.
Olivella’s Pizza and Wine opened last fall at 2816 Elm St. The Italian deli opened a few months later, in December.
Green said they had had wanted to explore a lunch offering, which was something they hadn’t done for several years. Olivella’s Italian Deli, which offered panini, subs, salads and other items for lunch, was their solution.
“It was hard to leave because it was such a great product, and everybody who came in loved it,” Green said. “But there was just not enough people walking around in our section, in our patch.”
But even before the deli opened, the restaurant was struggling.
Green said he was initially attracted to the neighborhood because he had heard that a lot of people visit in the evenings, but he said he didn’t realize that Deep Ellum, or at least that specific area in Deep Ellum, really caters toward late-night crowds.
“It was not the right fit for a restaurant concept for dinner,” Green said.
Originally, Olivella’s was going to focus on carry out and delivery and open in a smaller space in Deep Ellum. They even considered serving late-night diners, but they changed their mind because their signature whole pizzas baked in a brick oven didn’t seem like the best fit; slices, they thought, would work better.
But another space nearby became available, and it already had the HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems. All it needed was some cosmetic work. And that’s where the restaurant landed, offering dinner customers its signature Roman- and Neapolitan-style pizzas.
Since the Deep Ellum location closed, Olivella’s Italian Deli is now operating out of the Olivella’s by SMU, and Green said the business is doing great there. The Deep Ellum employees also moved to that location.
No specific locations are being considered to replace the Olivella’s that closed, Green said, but the company, which also has a restaurant at Hillside Village in Lakewood, is always looking for new opportunities.
Olivella’s is franchising this year, and Green said the company plans to show the concept to “interested parties” from Florida and Texas in coming weeks.
“I think if we were to sell one or two franchises this year, that would be great,” Green said. “Because we want to do it methodically and make sure that every one of our guys is successful and can and will replicate what we’re doing.”
