Scenes from an Italian deli Millinocket’s Orvieto offers a menu evoking Umbria

Starting in 1899, hundreds of Italian laborers came to Millinocket to do masonry work, lay railroad track and install sewer pipes, all for the mill now known as Great Northern. They settled in Little Italy, a neighborhood of tidy houses with garden plots and grapevines, apple and pear trees in the front yards.

These immigrants didn’t speak English, and the deep Maine woods bore little resemblance to their native land. They were homesick, but Fred Peluso, the “king of Little Italy,” offered them a taste of their homeland with an authentic market, which Dorothy Bowler Laverty describes in her book “Millinocket: Magic City of Maine’s Wilderness.”

“The store, festooned with strings of sausages, garlands of onions and red peppers and garlic, with its multi-shaped fat cheeses, its pastas and other commodities, was typically Italian,” Laverty writes. “Tantalizing aromas of breads from its basement bakery drew one and all. The store became the center of life for these homesick people.”

Today, few traces of Little Italy’s vibrant culture remain. But one thing hasn’t changed. A newer market called Orvieto, tucked away in this hard-to-find enclave, has brought a little slice of Umbria to the heart of Millinocket.

The deli case at Orvieto boasts salami and mortadella, Fontinella and aged Asiago cheeses, and homemade marinara with meatballs. Jars of pickled pepper salad, stuffed cherry peppers and canned tomatoes line the counter, while pizzelles and cannoli tempt sweet tooths. But the sandwiches – stacked with freshly roasted meats, marinated vegetables and flavorful cheeses, all on homemade bread – are the real allure.

White-water rafters like the Little Anthony, which consists of roast pork, marinated mushrooms, onions, pickles, blue cheese dressing and Cooper cheese. Locals are partial to the Holiday Sandwich of roasted turkey salad with lettuce and cranberries. And people have been known to drive up from Bangor for the vegetarian Italian, piled high with marinated tomatoes, onions, green peppers, olives, pepperoncini, pickles, muenster cheese and a cream cheese spread.

“You’ll hear a lot of people say, ‘I didn’t know you could find food like this, this far north,” said Joel Dicentes, 52, who took over Orvieto last fall. “We get people from all over.”

And he knows what they like. During the lunch rush, he can walk by the order slips and know who ordered what just by the sandwiches they like – and the quirks of their requests. One regular gets extra cranberries on her Holiday Sandwich, while another loves a small salami and cheese.

“The interaction with customers is very rewarding,” he said. “Local people have been good to me, as well as the local businesses.”

Dicentes has ties to both the mill and the city’s Italian roots. His great-grandfather came over from southern-central Italy to help build the mill, and Dicentes grew up a few blocks away from Orvieto. He worked at Great Northern for 30 years “before it collapsed.” When that happened, he was left scratching his head, wondering what to do.

He had always enjoyed cooking, so he enrolled in the culinary arts program at Eastern Maine Community College. He graduated last spring with degrees in culinary arts and restaurant management, and considered starting his own restaurant when Orvieto came up for sale.

“This is completely different from anything I’ve ever done,” Dicentes said. “It has grown some, and it’s fun watching it grow.”

Dick and Tib Manzo opened the market in 1992, and it has since become a local institution and a destination for folks “from away.” The Manzos trace their heritage back to Orvieto, a village in Italy’s Umbria region.

When Dicentes bought Orvieto last fall from its previous owners, Mike and Carolyn Simone, he decided to make it a family affair. His wife, Debra, lends a hand when she’s not working at the hospital, and their 26-year-old son, Sam, moved back when his Bangor-based National Guard unit returned from a tour in Iraq.

“It’s great – absolutely,” Sam said, smiling. “I don’t miss being over there and I’d really rather be up here than down in the city. Plus, I love the fact that it’s ours and we’re really trying to build it up.”

Sam rises early to make the bread – he’s in at 5 most mornings – and Joel arrives an hour later. He has taken the original menu and added a host of daily specials that could include a panini of shaved smoked salmon, roasted fennel, red onion, lettuce and orange Mascarpone dressing, or a sandwich known as “the Mob,” which is loaded capicola, pastrami, pepperoni, onion, marinated tomatoes, Monterey Jack cheese and honey mustard on Italian bread.

“We’re building it a little bit at a time,” Joel said.

He has branched out to do catering on a small scale, and he has dreams of opening another Italian deli, perhaps in Bangor. But for now, the crew at Orvieto is focused on keeping the local clientele happy.

“Gosh, they love it,” said Judi Hannafin, who has worked at the deli since last December. She and her husband moved to the area in the early 1990 from Manchester, N.H., and she says Orvieto captures the spirit of Millinocket.

“I’m from the big city and this is small-town life epitomized,” she said.

And as it was a century ago, this Italian market is the center of life in town – come lunchtime, at least.

Orvieto is located at 67 Prospect St. in Millinocket. For information, directions or a list of specials, visit www.dicensiinc.com or call 723-8399.