Historic Wexford House Post Office Deli Closing Its Doors

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The Wexford Post Office Deli has been serving sandwiches, salads and wraps for 35 years.

Paul Mitchell bought the deli 20 years ago. But chain store competition has forced him to close his doors for the final time on Saturday.

"The building's started showing its age," the owner says. "It was kind of struggling along. And we figured we may as well go out on a high note and make this decision now."

Customer Jeff Lancaster remembers when the building was still a post office.

"I used to be a paperboy, many years ago," he says. "That was before Internet. And then, as I grew in the business, I began coming here for lunch the past 20 years. I didn't know they were closing."

The building was constructed in 1906 as the Wexford Station House, a trolley stop on the old Harmony line. Now, it appears the little station is about to come full circle.

Scott Becker, executive director of the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, is raising funds to bring the depot down to the museum site in Washington County.

"I think they're going to do it in kind of a three-phase project." Mitchell says. "They're going to take the roof off, take it apart, and then they're actually going to cut the building in half and ship half of it down at a time, and reassemble the whole building down at the museum."

Assistant manager Lisa Donaldson will join the owner's successful catering group in Beaver County.

But for Elaine Vogel, who has worked at the deli for 20 years, this is retirement.

"It will be sad to be driving past and know I'm not working here anymore," she says.

But for the old station house, it's not necessarily the end of the line.

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