Sweet Deli Cafe restaurant brings paninis, breakfast and more to downtown Bradenton
Since buying the business last July, Kristen and James Balderrama have made Sweet Deli Cafe & Catering a hit with the downtown Bradenton breakfast and lunch crowd.
They did it through smartly updating the menu, having friends and neighbors taste-test their food offerings and through their knack for friendly hospitality.
Gone from the restaurant at 531 13th St. W., are the crepes and the crème brulée, while popular favorites like chocolate chip cookies, muffins and Danishes remain.
The deli still has its sweet side but the menu is decidedly more savory.
It has a focus on paninis (grilled sandwiches), specialty sandwiches (like the cranberry turkey sandwich or the bacon guacamole cheese melt), wraps, classic sandwiches (The Reuben, BLT, hot pastrami, chicken salad, egg salad and more), and flatbread pizza.
Also available all day are the breakfast sandwiches, including the egg croissant, the bacon guacamole cheese melt, the breakfast burrito, avocado toast and more.
Sweet Deli Cafe in downtown Bradenton
Rounding out the menu are soups and salads, smoothies, hot coffees and teas, iced and frozen drinks and beer and wine.
Ryan Quigley, an attorney for the Lombardo Law Office, works in offices above Sweet Deli Cafe and was a willing test subject for some of the offerings as the Balderramas worked to perfect their offerings.
“They have great lunch food and local food ambiance,” Quigley said as he ordered his go-to: Jammin’ Roast Beef Sandwich (roast beef, bacon jam, bleu cheese, provolone, lettuce and horse radish sauce on sourdough).
As a twist, Quigley orders the Jammin’ Roast Beef as a wrap, rather than a sandwich.
Another regular, Harley Staley, came in for the Chipotle Chicken Cheddar panini.
“I look at the menu and consider ordering the Cuban or the Chicken Pesto, but every time I say ‘No, I’m going with my regular,” Staley said.
Kristen Balderrama says that three of the top sellers are the Chipotle Chicken Cheddar panini, the Chicken Pesto (grilled chicken, pesto and grilled cheese) and the turkey, bacon and avocado sandwich.
A customer who always orders through Uber Eats like the Chipotle Chicken Cheddar panini so much that he has ordered it 74 times, James Balderrama said.
Sweet Deli Cafe has enjoyed strong support from workers in the courthouse, Manatee County Administration Building and neighboring businesses and offices, the couple said.
“We appreciate the local support we’ve gotten,” James Balderrama said.
Adds Kristen: “We want to be known as the local, downtown deli.”
The Balderramas both have a restaurant background but were working as mortgage processors when they lost their jobs in a corporate downsizing.
Searching online they found that the Sweet Deli Cafe was for sale.
“We stumbled upon it,” Kristen Balderrama said.
They saw the potential, liked the location and with a lot of hard work are seeing the reward of appreciative and returning customers.
What to know
▪ Name: Sweet Deli Cafe & Catering
▪ Address: 531 13th St. W., Bradenton
▪ Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday
▪ Catering: Sweet Deli Cafe can cater for five to 100-plus people. Free delivery offered to local businesses
▪ Online: SweetDeliCafe.com
▪ Phone: (941) 330-6509
