In 1922 in Brooklyn, Italian immigrant Nick Defonte bought a corner store for $100. That store became Defonte’s Sandwich Shop, a Red Hook icon. Today, his grandkids run the original deli along with a second Staten Island outpost. At Defonte’s, staff and longtime customers bring all the boisterous conviviality of a family reunion.

“You walk in here, and it’s like you’re transported back in the day,” said Vincent Defonte, the shop’s social media manager and the founder’s great-grandson. “There’s people yelling left and right. There’s sandwiches being thrown.” “The whole neighborhood knows us. If anybody needed anything, we’re always there for them,” Nicholas said.