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Capitol Deli moves to new location

Casual fast food restaurant finds a home at the old Milano’s Pizzeria location on Railroad Avenue in Rifle

Capitol Deli in now open in its new location on Railroad Avenue. The east coast style deli opened in 2018 in New Castle.

Dusti Budd credits fate in finding a home for Capitol Deli, her East Coast-style deli, in the heart of Rifle.

She hadn’t been looking to move the deli, which opened in May of 2018 in New Castle at Lakota Clubhouse. Budd said during a conversation with one of her purveyors the Railroad location was mentioned.

“Actually it was kind of weird, this place fell in my lap,” Budd said.



Budd, who has been in the industry for her entire working career, knew at an early age she wanted to run her own restaurant, her father chef Stephen Lloyd operated the original Capitol Deli in El Jebel before selling in the early 2000s.

“I always wanted to run it, when he sold it I wasn’t quite in a position to yet,” Budd said.



She began doing business plans and taking college courses, and it all just kind of came together almost two years ago.

Budd said they were really busy during the summer at their previous location, but during the winter it died down, so she jumped at the chance for the old location of Milano’s Pizzeria in the 800 block of Railroad Avenue.

“I talked to the owner of the building, and here we are,” Budd said.

After closing the New Castle location in November, Budd began remodeling parts of the building’s interior.

“A lot of my work was in the kitchen directly — we ripped everything out, put in a new hood, and restructured it for a deli, not a pizzeria,” Budd said.

The deli opened two weeks ago Friday, and Budd said business has been busy so far.

Formerly located in New Castle, Capitol Deli recently relocated to Railroad Avenue in Rifle.
CapitolDeli-rct-020620-2

“It has been crazy, and we are real appreciative to that,” Budd said. “It can be overwhelming at the same time, as we move our training process and people getting more comfortable things will smooth out a little bit.”

With 12 employees, Budd said one of the hardest parts is training new staff.

“We’d love to try and start training before we opened, but realistically you really can’t fully train until you’re going,” Budd said. “I want people to understand we are trying our hardest. We appreciate all the support since we opened.”

The East Coast-style deli menu items include the traditional Philly cheesesteak and Reuben sandwiches, rotisserie chicken and ribs. Budd said they also make some sandwiches that her dad and his partners came up with over the years.

“A popular one we started at the New Castle location was our rotisserie prime rib, and we will do that every third Thursday of the month,” Budd said.

Capitol Deli also offers catering with their full menu, and do special request with notice.

As the deli gets settled in, Budd has some plans for the summer and the future.

“The owner is building on a nice patio, so this summer hopefully we can utilize that a little more,” Budd said.

Budd said she also plans to work with the city of Rifle and the state of Colorado on trying to secure a beer and wine license.

But for Budd, it’s about family first, and the experience with the people she meets and comes across.

“I’ve met a lot of neat people and supporters throughout, including local restaurant owners. That’s what it’s about I think,” Budd said.

“Being in the restaurant industry you have to continuously look for ways to improve, grow, open new doors, and being able to deliver something that people enjoy.”

kmills@postindependent.com


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