(WXYZ) — At Gonella's in Southwest Detroit, a small group of friends celebrated 'Sandwich Week' on Friday afternoon.
"It’s this thing that I started with a handful of friends, 11 years ago, and it’s the week sandwiched in between Christmas and New Year's where we celebrate by eating sandwiches. That’s it," said Carlos Parisi, who came up with the idea more than a decade ago.
To celebrate, attendees spend the week eating sandwiches at different local restaurants across metro Detroit. Parisi says the event has grown exponentially since starting.
"Doing something like this in the midst of the holiday season, when maybe there’s not a lot of business otherwise, we’re bringing in as many people as we possibly can," said Parisi.
This year's event included a stop at Mudgies Deli and Wine Shop where hundreds of people showed up. The group also made a trip to Ladder 4 where the sandwich, specially made for the event, sold out in just one hour. The tour also included stops at Hygrade Deli and will end on Saturday at Ernie's in Oak Park.
Parisi, who is the owner of Aunt Nee's Chips and Salsa, says as a small business owner he knows the value of local support.
Friday, the group made a stop at Gonella's, a deli in Southwest Detroit steeped in a rich history.
"Our subs are that classic Italian sandwich. You get the fresh lunch meats cut, fresh bread, fresh vegetables, fresh everything in-house. Your traditional Italian sandwich but we’ve perfected it," said Dior Hanni, who has worked at the shop since he was a kid.
Hanni says his family has owned the store for the last 35 years but the business has been in the community for 75 years. He says having regular customers support them is what has kept them around for so long.
"(The 'Sandwich Week' Group has) been here before but it’s a beautiful thing. We need more of that in the community. It’s a great thing to help out the mom-and-pop shops. We’ve seen a lot of them go," said Hanni. "There's not much left around us anymore. It’s sad. We’ve seen businesses close that have been around 50-60 years that didn’t make it."
A group of about 30 people made it for lunch Friday, including Kristin Fehrman.
"I started at Mudgie's the other day and did Ladder 4 yesterday and now I’m here," said Fehrman as she stood outside enjoying her sub." I got the vegetarian sandwich with three different cheeses. I just told them to put whatever."
Organizers of Sandwich Week say their goal is to not only keep small businesses like Gonella's alive for another century, but to bring people together and keep community strong.
"A lot of the auto industry has moved away. A lot of the industry in general has moved out of the city. We realize that the only thing we really have as Detroiters is each other," said Parisi. "Small business is the only way for us to survive and continue moving forward as a community."
Friday at 6 p.m., the group is inviting community members to Rocco's Italian Deli for another round of sandwiches. There will also be a raffle there.
Saturday the group will make their final stop for sandwich week at Ernie's Market in Oak Park starting at noon. The group plans to celebrate again next year. Updates can be found on Parisi's social media.
