By Chris Basinger, Staff Writer
TRUSSVILLE, Ala.–After a decade honing his culinary craft, John Finney is ready to bring his vision for a new dining experience to life right here in Trussville.
Henrietta’s Deli is set to open in the Trussville Entertainment District later this month, offering locals access to quality ingredients and a place to enjoy tasty, local dishes.
Finney started his culinary journey at Jefferson State, and was hired out of school by famed Birmingham chef Frank Stitt to work at Highlands Bar and Grill.
There, he worked his way up from making salads to becoming the restaurant’s sous-chef, during which Highlands won the James Beard Award.
After four years, Finney moved over to Chez Fonfon where he served as the chef de cuisine for the last six years.
When the time came for him to open a restaurant of his own, he settled on opening a deli and decided it should be located in the place he calls home.
“I was like, well you know what, there’s no place around here just to get a sandwich,” Finney said.
“You can go to Subway, you can go to Jimmy John’s, and that’s totally fine if that’s the way you want to go, but there’s no homemade-type thing around here.”
Finney and his family have lived in Trussville since 2015 and he has partnered with Hewitt-Trussville and Jeff State’s culinary programs to share his love of fine food with the community.
“I want to provide good food to a town that really deserves it,” Finney said.
With family at the forefront, he chose Henrietta, his grandmother’s middle name, as the name of the new deli, which will focus on a locally-made dining experience.
“Everything that I’m gonna do is going to be made from scratch,” Finney said.
“The vinaigrettes, the dressings, some of the sides, the potato chips–all that can be made in-house.”
In addition to the sandwich shop, Henrietta’s will serve as a full deli storefront, selling meats, cheeses, oils, vinegars, locally made spices, towels, cutting boards and more.
“I want to be able to have something for the guests that they can buy that they didn’t know that they needed,” Finney said.
He plans to have the new restaurant open before Christmas.
“I’m just excited to share my vision and my passion with Trussville. From talking to people…they’re just excited to have something different but really, really good,” Finney said.
For a sneak preview of Henrietta’s, visit www.henriettasdeli.com.
