Seating is not a problem at Canale’s Deli.
The Martinez business conducts to-go business only, and even though it just started last fall, the name might be familiar to Augustans who’ve lived here for about 50 years.
Cathy Watson had been working in California as one of the first woman delivery drivers for United Parcel Service when “my in-laws got this insane idea to open a restaurant in Augusta, Ga.,” she said, smiling. The restaurant, Emilio’s, operated for several years opposite the Augusta National Golf Club where Honey from the Rock Café is now. It closed about 1990, and a short-lived reincarnation, Emilio’s Too, opened in 1995 in Evans.
Finding a knack for the restaurant business and culinary arts, Watson spent years as a restaurant manager and corporate trainer, then running her own business as a food-handling inspector for Los Angeles County restaurants.
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She also began preparing “grab-and-go” entrees, in the days when the concept referred to personal chefs. A job opportunity in Corvallis, Ore., led to Watson securing contracts for her own business to manage the kitchens and prepare meals at Oregon State University fraternity and sorority houses.
COVID put an effective end to that business as campuses shut down nationwide and contract negotiations with the school grew increasingly difficult. By then, Watson had been divorced for several years but still had relatives in the Augusta area. Her son Colin Canale, who had moved to Oregon from Hawaii to help his mother with her business, suggested starting a restaurant in Augusta where they could capitalize on the Canale name recognition and family support framework.
Canale moved to Augusta in 2022, but it took a year before finding an ideal business location: 3801-C Washington Rd., where it meets Davis Road, on the former site of a bakery.
Hot meals at Canale’s change daily, but the big draw is the grab-and-go selection of food, made fresh each day, for lunches or for reheating at dinner. The basil pesto pasta with chicken apparently was very popular with Chi Omega sisters at Oregon State. Generously loaded salads and homemade cheesecakes also are popular. Some days’ menus even feature Korean entrees.
Another popular item, Watson’s homemade chicken salad, got popular when she catered events for an Oregon Republican women’s group. Her recipe includes cherries and hazelnuts, two familiar Oregon agricultural products. Beyond that, she has little more to reveal.”
“It’s an Oregon recipe,” she said. “It’s very simple, but it’s a process.