Senator Webb Honors Shortstop Deli in Ithaca with NYS Senate Empire Award for Business Excellence

(Ithaca, NY) – This week, Senator Lea Webb presented the New York State Empire Business Award to Shortstop Deli Owner Chuck Dong. The New York Senate’s Empire Award was created to recognize excellence in the business community and to honor leaders in their field who have made important contributions to their communities. 

The award-winning establishment in downtown Ithaca is known for delicious, fresh, made-to-order submarine sandwiches. Dong first joined the Shortstop family when he was a teenager, working for previous owners Albert and Cindy Smith, who opened the shop in 1978 and founded the deli as a center for food and community. Dong has incorporated the lessons he learned from the Smith’s into the ongoing mission of Shortstop Deli, which is centered on making positive change in the community and giving back to local organizations like GIAC and the Learning Web. 

Senator Lea Webb stated, "Not only does Shortstop Deli feed the community with delicious, fresh food, Chuck and his team also nourish us with their generosity and community spirit. For Ithacans since 1978, and now under the leadership of Chuck Dong, we look forward to many more years of delicious food and community building. I am delighted to present Chuck with a NYS Senate Empire Award to recognize his work to enrich our small business community with delicious food and a philanthropic spirit."

"I am honored to have been awarded the Empire Award by Senator Webb," said Chuck Dong, Owner of Shortstop Deli. "Thank you, Senator Webb. With all the challenges in navigating the business through the pandemic, I am truly appreciative of the recognition this award bears. And I am thankful to the Ithaca community in which I was born and raised. On behalf of all locally-owned small businesses, I want to emphasize the importance of supporting our local small businesses. The impact of the pandemic affected us profoundly, and the challenges to ensure sustainability are still real and present for many of us"