Family recipes live on at new deli

Its menu says its food is "just like mom used to make." Only, in this case, mom is named Eric Movsessian Vazgen.

His shop is Crispy's Deli, 7762 W. Sahara Ave., on the northeast corner of Buffalo Drive.

The business offers soups, pizza and salads. It also has sandwiches made with ciabatta bread, with selections such as Italian, Cuban, mortadella, and tuna salad. The tuna offers a bit of crunch because it includes nuts, as well as a hint of horseradish. And, yes -- that was his mother's special way to make it.

What Crispy's doesn't offer is French fries.

"Fruit is healthier," said Movsessian Vazgen, a resident of Summerlin.

The shop seats about a dozen diners. Most of its business, an estimated 70 percent, is catering. Workers at a few area companies discovered Crispy's and have become regulars.

One of them is Jerry Eskandari, an electrical contractor, who ordered the Caprese sandwich, Crispy's top seller. Eskandari has diabetes and said the side of fruit was a factor for him.

"The food is fresher than you get a lot of other places," he said.

Julie Kraig, employed at the Alverson Taylor law firm, uses Crispy's to cater meetings. She, too, remarked on the fresh ingredients.

"And they use green lettuce, like romaine, instead of iceberg lettuce in their salads," she said. "It makes a difference."

Crispy's Deli is the latest reincarnation for the 1,100-square-foot site. When Movsessian Vazgen took it over, the Clark County Health Department dictated changes that cost him $45,000.

"The day that it opened, my sales were only $5," he said.

Movsessian Vazgen acknowledged the nine-month-old deli is not in the most visible location, so he sends out coupons, prints fliers and advertises by radio. Word of mouth is helping out, too.

Movsessian Vazgen told of a customer from Arizona who ordered $28 worth of food but signed his credit card receipt for $45.

"I told him, 'You made a mistake, your total is $28,' " the deli owner said. Rather than change his total, "the man grabbed a bunch of these (take-out menus) and said, 'This is the best food I ever tasted. When any of my friends come to Las Vegas, I'll give them one of these and say, 'Make sure you eat here.' "

The deli's interior is clean, with amusing touches like a miniature ship's bell for service, and a serving bowl-sized coffee cup that dwarfs the tips it holds. Table tops are sparsely decorated, with only a plaid cloth napkin and tiny candle lamp.

This is not the first time Movsessian Vazgen has been in the food business. For the past nine years, he oversaw food served at CCSN. Before that, he owned and operated a coffee shop near Flamingo Road and Decatur Boulevard.

But food service hasn't always been a way of life for the deli owner. Movsessian Vazgen, who speaks seven languages, changed careers after being an architect.

He and his wife, Armineh, have two college-aged children. Armineh Movsessian Vazgen also works with food. She runs the employee buffet at the Imperial Palace.