In 1973, Giorgio DeLuca, son of an Italian food importer, opened The Cheese Store at 120 Prince Street, where he sold a wide selection of domestic and imported cheeses previously not readily available in the US, and then in 1977, DeLuca, along with two partners, Joel Dean and Jack Ceglic, went on to open Dean and DeLuca, the gourmet food superstore across the street and converted The Cheese Store into a sandwich shop. DeLuca describes how he came to open his now world-famous store.