Johnny C's Deli & Pasta

Johnny C’s Deli & Pasta is a family-owned Italian deli and pasta house in Kansas City’s East Bottoms (Northeast Industrial District), opened in 1992 by Johnny Caracci around his great-grandmother’s Italian family recipes and known for hearty Italian subs, homemade pasta, and weekday lunch catering.

Description

Johnny C’s Deli & Pasta is a family-owned and operated Italian deli in the East Bottoms industrial flats of Kansas City, Missouri, serving home-style Italian pasta dishes and deli sandwiches. The menu centers on Italian subs built from deli meats and cheeses on fresh-baked Italian bread, meatball sandwiches with house meatballs and marinara, and classic pasta plates such as spaghetti and meatballs and lasagna made with homemade sauces.¹²³

The Kansas City storefront at 7012 Universal Ave runs a weekday lunch operation (Monday–Friday, roughly 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) catering to the surrounding Northeast Industrial District workforce, and the business is frequently cited in local lunch coverage as a go-to Italian spot.³⁴ Beyond the dine-in/carryout counter, Johnny C’s offers catering for office lunches, holiday parties, at-home celebrations, and private events, building customized menus to budget.¹

Ownership and history

Johnny C’s Deli & Pasta was opened in 1992 by Johnny Caracci, who built the business around his great-grandmother’s cherished Italian family recipes. By the company’s own account, Caracci grew up in his grandmother’s kitchen and opened the deli to recreate the food and the sense of family he knew as a child.¹ The business has operated as a family-owned and family-run deli for over 30 years and presents itself as one of Kansas City’s go-to Italian delis.¹²

The current day-to-day ownership is described consistently as “family-owned and operated,” and Johnny Caracci is named as founder. The specific identities of any second-generation or co-owners beyond the founder are not detailed in available public sources.

A second location operates in Lawrence, Kansas (623 Vermont St Lower, Lawrence, KS 66044), with extended evening and weekend hours. This Registry page covers the Kansas City, MO original at 7012 Universal Ave.³

Menu

Last verified: 2026-06-17 · Source: Johnny C’s Deli & Pasta official menu page · URL(s): https://www.johnnycsdeli.com/menu/ · Confidence: High

Italian deli + pasta house: cold and hot Italian subs/sandwiches, homemade pasta plates served with side salad and bread & butter, salads, and classic Italian desserts. Build-your-own deli sandwiches let guests pick from house deli meats (ham, capicola, roast beef, turkey, pepperoni, Genoa salami, pastrami), cheeses, and breads.⁵

Signature Italian subs & sandwiches

• Gondola Sub — the house signature: bologna, Genoa salami, and ham with American and Swiss cheese on a loaf of Italian bread; sold whole, half, or quarter ($24.49 / $13.99 / $9.49).⁵
• Italian Trio — ham, capicola, salami, and pepperoni with provolone and Italian dressing on an Italian roll ($10.49).⁵
• Muffuletta — New Orleans–style Italian sandwich with olive salad ($11.99).⁵
• Meatball — house meatballs and marinara, hot ($10.49).⁵
• Johnny’s Palermo — house hot sandwich ($10.49).⁵
• Executive Park — ham, turkey, and beef with American and Swiss on an Italian roll ($10.49).⁵

Pasta (served with side salad and bread & butter)

• Lasagna — signature baked pasta ($12.99).⁵
• Pasta & Meatballs — classic spaghetti-and-meatballs plate ($10.99).⁵
• Pasta & Meat Sauce ($10.99) · Pasta & Italian Sausage ($11.49) · Pasta & Marinara ($10.49).⁵

Salads

• Chef Salad ($10.49) · Grilled / Fried Chicken Salad ($11.49) · Seafood Salad ($9.99) · Garden Salad ($7.99).⁵
• Olive Salad ($2.99) — the muffuletta component, sold à la carte.⁵

Desserts

• Cannoli, tiramisu, cheesecake, carrot cake, pineapple upside-down cake, fresh-baked cookies, and a cake of the day.⁵

Prices reflect the official online menu as of 2026-06-17 and are subject to change.

Links

• Website: https://www.johnnycsdeli.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JohnnyCsDeli/
• Phone: (816) 483-3354

See also

• Registry
• east-bottoms

Sources

• Status verified active 2026-06-23 via Yelp — Johnny C’s Deli & Pasta of Kansas City, 7012 Universal Ave (Updated June 2026) (accessed 2026-06-23). KC location at 7012 Universal Ave confirmed open, Mon–Fri 9–4. Note: a former downtown satellite at 1111 Main St shows “CLOSED” on Yelp — that is not this Registry record’s address.

Footnotes

1. Johnny C’s Deli & Pasta — official “About / Our Story” page (founder Johnny Caracci, 1992 founding, great-grandmother’s Italian recipes, family-owned for 30+ years, catering) — https://www.johnnycsdeli.com/about/ — accessed 2026-05-30 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

2. Yelp — “Johnny C’s Deli & Pasta of Kansas City,” 7012 Universal Ave, Kansas City, MO (deli category, reviews, signature Italian subs, active as of May 2026) — https://www.yelp.com/biz/johnny-cs-deli-and-pasta-of-kansas-city-kansas-city — accessed 2026-05-30 ↩ ↩²

3. Johnny C’s Deli & Pasta — official “Contact” page (KC address 7012 Universal Ave, MO 64120, phone 816-483-3354, Mon–Fri 9–4; second location 623 Vermont St Lower, Lawrence, KS 66044) — https://www.johnnycsdeli.com/contact/ — accessed 2026-05-30 ↩ ↩² ↩³

4. Living Kansas City — “Johnny C’s Knows How To Please A Kansas City Lunch Crowd” (independent local lunch coverage) — http://livingkansascity.blogspot.com/2013/05/johnny-cs-knows-how-to-please-kansas.html — accessed 2026-05-30 ↩

5. Johnny C’s Deli & Pasta — official online menu page (build-your-own deli sandwiches, signature Gondola Sub / Italian Trio / Muffuletta, hot sandwiches, pasta plates served with side salad and bread, salads, Italian desserts; prices as listed) — https://www.johnnycsdeli.com/menu/ — accessed 2026-06-17 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³