I first became aware of Salami Mammi kind of by accident; but when I realized what it was and who was involved, I knew I had to reach out to them to learn more. This is a new Italian deli from the folks behind Don’s Favorite Foods and Burger Stevens: Kate Laurents and Don Salamone, plus their business partner Adam Galbraith. And it will take over the current Don’s space, with Don’s moving elsewhere in Beaverton (location TBD).
I had a chance to speak with them about the new place, and here is what we talked about.
Don, Kate, and Adam—the Salami Mammi Team
When I started our phone call, I was familiar with Don and Kate, but less so with Adam Galbraith, who came on as a partner when Don’s Favorite Foods arrived on the scene in 2023. “I joined them in 2023 to help open Don’s Favorite Foods. I was a sommelier up in Seattle for a number of years.”
Before Don’s Famous Foods existed, Don and Kate ran Burger Stevens, which was established in 2016 and ended in 2024. It started out at the Hillsdale Food Park next to the high school; later they branched out with additional carts to multiple pods in Portland and the BG Food Cartel pod in Beaverton. They served fast food style burgers and fries—Michael Russell at The Oregonian described them as, “Shake Shack-style burgers, only prepared by a chef with Michelin-starred restaurant experience.”
Salami Mammi: What’s in a Name?
I asked Don about the origin story of Salami Mammi name, and he says that goes back to when he was growing up in Rochester, NY. (“It’s almost like a little Long Island—it’s very Italian with surprisingly good Italian American food.”) He and his brother would call their mom, “Mammi Salami.” Salami being a riff off their last name, Salamone…