Red Rooster Deli Patrons

Crow Over Custom Cakes, Catering And Quiche

By John Voket

Tucked away in a well-traveled but cozy corner of the South Main Marketplace, adjacent to Ricci’s Salon, is the Red Rooster Deli. This quaint eatery, opened just about a year ago by Newtown native Alison Noroian, features many of the kinds of sandwiches, beverages, and snacks one might expect to find at any deli counter.

But step back into the cramped kitchen area and it becomes evident why this food service establishment is distinct among its many local competitors. Ms Noroian has set out to create a select number of deli recipes, along with unique catering and bakery services that give the Red Rooster a unique niche.

On the deli side, she personally creates a handful of weekly specials like none other, including her creamy Butternut squash soup, sausage and eggplant, batter dipped Monte Cristos with ham and swiss, chili, “Taco Boats” jammed with spicy ground beef and freshly chopped veggies, and if you don’t go for spicy, just sample what Ms Noroian proudly regards as “the best quiche in all of Newtown.”

First and second shifters can grab a 99-cent breakfast sandwich with sausage, ham, or bacon that Red Rooster serves up all day.

On the Red Rooster’s sweet-side, she has quickly developed a loyal following of customers clamoring for her one-of-a-kind baked creations. Just don’t call them cakes.

While Ms Noroian’s oven-baked masterpieces are only limited by the imagination, she has in just a few short months demonstrated a flair for design and creativity that is generating buzz all over town. Besides her mouth-watering lemon and cranberry tarts, which can be ordered in quantities for one family or an army of guests, she has meticulously crafted cake foundations to resemble groundhogs, a beehive overflowing with syrupy glaze, a golf-themed dessert with a edible tee and cart, a Magic Kingdom castle with 265 tiny purple sugary blossoms surrounding its many turrets, and even an edible sump pump to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Triple Safe, a plumbing supplier, which she slaved over for two days.

Other bakeries may plop plastic decorations on their cakes, but Ms Noroian crafts each element of every creation from sugar paste and other edible ingredients. One may wonder where a deli owner derives such talents.

Well, prior to her acquiring the Red Rooster, Ms Noroian was trained in the profession of architecture and interior design. She even designed a spec home on High Bridge Road.

And more recently, she honed her business skills managing a workforce of more than 1,400 mortgage industry support workers.

The sum total of her “training” in the culinary arts came from her college days when many of her friends “tested” their own cooking creations on their willing acquaintance.

“Basically I learned a lot by watching other people cook and bake,” Ms Noroian said.

For those looking to put the Red Rooster to work on their catering event, she offers a vast choice of nearly 100 different appetizers and a full menu that ranges from pasta dishes and salads, to whole turkeys and prime rib.

“With appropriate notice we can not only prepare the food for an event, but we can fully staff and prepare on-site,” she said.

From a philanthropic standpoint, she supports fundraising efforts for the new dog pound, as well as performs some volunteer catering for a local Dinner with Friends night. Looking forward, Ms Noroian would like to expand the scope and availability of her baking creations if she can figure out a way to make the space required to do it.

The Shelton resident was born and raised in Newtown, the daughter of now retired local police officer Harry Noroian. When she learned that a deli space was becoming available, she took advantage of a corporate buyout and shortly there after opened the Red Rooster.

“I love this town and this location,” she said during a recent visit. “It’s a little small but it’s cozy. Customers can zip in for a quick meal to go, or sit around for hours reading or just watching television.”

Ms Noroian prides herself on learning each of her regular customer’s names, “…so it’s a little like Cheers when you walk in,” she added.