Small Deli With Big Variety

Ed Zehner had never run a deli before he opened Ma's Kitchen.

He admitted it was a decision he made more than 18 months ago "on a whim."

Once he decided to open his business, he decided to take a full-force approach. That is evident by the menu.

Zehner serves breakfast, lunch and pizza and caters with hot, cold and dessert trays.

"We'll do anything to satisfy people and to make money," he said.

His breakfast choices include pancakes, biscuits and gravy, omelets, toast, bacon, sausage, eggs, grits and home fries. His lunch menu includes applejack wraps, hamburgers, corn dogs, fried okra, tuna melts, hoagies, Philly cheese steaks, meatloaf, stuffed peppers and fried green tomatoes.

His catering plates include baked zeta, eggplant and a variety of other pastas.

Zehner also sells Hunt's Brothers Pizza, hot wings and pulled pork. The latter is a popular choice, he said.

He also doesn't take a day off. His kitchen is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day of the week.

On Sundays and Mondays during football season, he offers two 12-inch pizzas with unlimited toppings and 10 chicken wings for $16.50. It's a deal no other local restaurant offers at such a low price, he said.

Zehner's prices are purposely kept low. If a patron entered with a $5 bill, he or she could buy anything from stuffed peppers to a chicken fillet sandwich. In fact, there are a total of more than 30 items on the breakfast and lunch menu that cost less than $5.

Ma's Kitchen could have been a haven for local construction workers who wanted to find a cheap nearby deli along State Road 50, but the stalled housing market has hurt Zehner's business.

Nonetheless, he still serves a fair share of regular customers, truckers and tourists. The kitchen is located in the same building as Blanche's Project I, a convenience and relic store off Cortez Boulevard, east of Brooksville.

"Blanche's itself is a tourist attraction," he said, when asked about his customer base. "We get a lot of tourists here."

On Saturday, Zehner met a man from Orlando who drove across the state along S.R. 50 and took notes and photographs. He was writing his own personal blog about his travels. He stopped in for a meal at Ma's Kitchen.

There is a simple story behind the name's origin. Zehner, who lives in Brooksville, is half Italian and his wife and stepdaughter are 100 percent Italian.

His wife is used to hearing "Ma," and the two of them were accustomed to saying it themselves.

"It's an Italian thing," he said. "We just decided we wanted to call it Ma's Kitchen."

The size of his work space is modest. There is one table inside and a few places to sit outdoors. The kitchen is roughly half the size of a hotel room.

It's plenty big for Zehner.

"It's all done under this roof," he said.

Biz at a glance:

Name of biz - Ma's Kitchen

Owner - Ed Zehner

What it is - Deli that serves breakfast and lunch

Where it is - 25143 Cortez Blvd., Brooksville

Hours of operation - 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Sunday

Get in touch - 352-796-6632