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If you’re on the Hoboken interwebs, you *may* have already heard that Lisa’s Deli is getting a new chapter, with new owners – and its longtime name staying put. After months of uncertainty surrounding the future of the Italian deli at 901 Park Avenue, The Hoboken Girl spoke exclusively with new co-owner and Hoboken BNR Nick Rutigliani, who is one of the co-owners of Hoboken’s Otto Strada, another neighborhood favorite. Nick and his business partner, Dante Amato, have taken over the business from the Lisa family, with plans to refresh the space, introduce a smaller menu, and preserve the neighborhood deli’s old-school roots. The team is targeting a January 2027 reopening, though an exact date has not been confirmed. Read on for our exclusive details about Lisa’s Deli’s new ownership, upcoming menu, + reopening plans in Hoboken – as we chatted with Nick this week and got the full scoop from the source.
Continuing Lisa’s Legacy
For Nick, who is originally from Hoboken, taking over Lisa’s was an opportunity to preserve a piece of his hometown. With the Lisa family ready to close its chapter running the deli, Nick and Dante saw a chance to keep the business going. Dante is friends with the family, and that existing relationship helped bring the transition together.
^Nick Rutigliani + his business patner Dante Amato
“We know Lisa’s is a landmark in Hoboken; why not keep it going?” Nick told The Hoboken Girl. The closure of another longtime Hoboken Italian deli, Losurdo’s, was on his mind. Rather than see another neighborhood institution disappear, Nick wanted to help carry its tradition forward – with the same Lisa’s Deli name.
“We want to keep Lisa’s going for another 30-40 years,” he said. Former owner Maria Lisa still owns the building and lives upstairs, according to Nick, so while she and the Lisa family will no longer be involved in running the business, neighbors can still expect to see her around.
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Nick has decades of experience working in restaurants, delis, and catering. He is a graduate of the culinary program of the New York Restaurant School and worked in several Manhattan kitchens, including the Michelin-starred restaurant Jean-Georges. Nick told The Hoboken Girl that he and his family previously operated Valiani’s in Pompton Lakes as well, with his homemade mozzarella and cured meats being customer favorites, drawing on skills he learned from his Nonno.
Otto Strada (meaning Eighth Street in Italian) opened in 2014 and is a quintessential Hoboken Italian restaurant. It has a wood-fired pizza oven, handmade pasta, and is a BYOB spot, meaning high-quality food with laid-back vibes. In 2024, the restaurant won HG’s ‘Best of Hoboken’ in three categories: Best Restaurant in Hoboken, Best BYOB in Hoboken, and Best Pasta in Hoboken. In 2025, it won Best Pasta + Best BYOB. The restaurant was closed for several months in 2025 after a fire damaged the space.
The Menu + What’s to Come
The new owners plan to refresh Lisa’s menu with Italian deli staples, daily specials, and new sandwich creations. Nick said the previous menu had more than 300 items, which is tough to fully recreate. The new version will be smaller, with a focus on fresh preparation and dishes including meatballs, chicken cutlets, chicken parm, fresh rice balls, soups, and of course – house-made mutz. Sandwiches will remain a central part of the business, with the team developing combinations that bring their own Italian flair to the menu.
“We want to infuse our own take on its old-school vibe,” Nick said. The goal, he explained to us, is to give the deli “a fresh direction” while keeping the familiar neighborhood feel that made Lisa’s a staple.
About Lisa’s Deli + the ~*Saga*~
Lisa’s Deli, located at 901 Park Avenue, opened in December 1971. The deli was founded by Pietro and Caterina Lisa, who were later joined in the business by their sons, Tony + Angelo. This neighborhood spot served everything from breakfast sandwiches to classic Italian dishes, plus catering options. The shop also carried imported Italian products, including pasta + sauces. Lisa’s was best known locally for its extensive hoagie, sandwich + wrap menu, and its house-made mozzarella. The deli had participated in Hoboken Mutz Fest for more than 10 years and has long been a go-to spot for fresh mutz.
In March 2026, an HG reader sent us a listing posted in the Facebook group “Restaurants For Sale By Owner” that appeared to advertise the space at 901 Park Avenue. The listing included a real estate agent and was later deleted. The Hoboken Girl reached out to both the Lisa’s team and the listing agent for more information.
Via DM, Lisa’s team told HG that the deli was not for rent and that the listing was a mistake. However, a separate local real estate agent told HG at the time that the space was available for rent and that Lisa’s Deli would be closing.
Like many Hoboken businesses, Lisa’s Deli closed during the summer months. But as the closure continued into September, readers began reaching out to The Hoboken Girl asking whether the deli would reopen. As of September 17th, 2026, the business remained closed: its phone number was not working, online ordering through its website had been turned off, and Lisa’s appeared as unavailable on several third-party delivery platforms. Meanwhile, Hoboken neighbors were increasingly inquiring about the status of the business on online platforms and in HG’s DMs.
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At the time, there had been no public announcement confirming whether the closure was temporary or permanent, though Maria Lisa did comment on a Facebook post that the business “wasn’t closing.” However, in October 2026, a sign appeared outside Lisa’s Deli stating that the business is temporarily closed for renovations and under new ownership. The sign also says that the deli will be reopening soon.
And lucky for (all of) us, The Hoboken Girl team got a chance to speak directly with the source – so there’s no more speculation, just verification.
We’re looking forward to seeing Lisa’s reopen, and as always: follow @thehobokengirl on Instagram + TikTok for the latest Hoboken and Jersey City updates, sign up for our weekly newsletter here that shares everything you missed each week, and check out our events calendar, which has over 100+ events weekly to peruse.
