UK-themed deli renames sandwiches, gets visit from new coach. Ready for a Popes Pastrami?

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Zac Wright was a man on a mission.

It was a pursuit that combined the two most prevalent passions in the Georgetown native’s life: Kentucky basketball and sandwiches.

Wright is the owner and one-man crew behind Big Blue Deli, a quaint UK sports-themed deli and restaurant on Limestone Street in downtown Lexington.

Over the past few weeks, Wright made it his goal to lure new Kentucky men’s basketball coach Mark Pope into the establishment by creating a series of special sandwiches named in his honor.

“We just wanted to let him know, like, welcome home,” Wright told the Herald-Leader from behind his deli counter, while dressed in a Kentucky shirt and UK basketball shorts.

“We were fortunate enough to feed the basketball team in the past and be able to connect with the program. So that was something I was trying to make sure that he understood as well, that I was happy to have (Pope) back. We want to be involved in this program how we can.”

On Friday — after less than two weeks of trying — Wright succeeded. Pope stopped in (with some UK basketball company that included coaches and players) for lunch.

Wright was tipped off to Pope’s potential arrival on Thursday. He was told to keep word of Pope’s planned visit relatively quiet, but Wright was able to tell his parents and have them be in the restaurant to meet Pope.

“My mom is the biggest UK fan I know,” Wright said. “That’s really how I got into watching basketball, watching baseball, and still to this day I talk to her about the Cats more than anything else.”

Wright said Pope hung out at Big Blue Deli for about an hour on Friday afternoon, eating at one of the restaurant’s two authentic vintage bleacher sections from Rupp Arena, which have been converted into makeshift tabletops.

“It was clear he was in some type of meeting, but he talked to everybody that walked in. We had people walk by who just saw him, said hello. (He was) super accommodating, super nice,” Wright said.

Pope was officially announced as UK’s new head coach on Friday, April 12, before being unveiled to a packed crowd of adoring fans at Rupp Arena on Sunday, April 14. Wright — who often creates daily specials with clever naming conventions — began creating specials named after Pope on April 29.

Big Blue Deli (open weekdays from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.) rolled out nine different Mark Pope specials before the man himself walked through the doors.

The first Pope-related special was “The #41”, featuring roast beef, turkey, sharp cheddar and provolone cheese, romaine lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and deli dressing on a hoagie roll. The name was a callback to Pope’s jersey number from his two seasons playing at UK.

The “ON THE MARK (Pope)“ was a wrap that included lemon pepper sliced rotisserie chicken, shredded Parmesan cheese, romaine lettuce, tomato and ranch dressing.

“That was a good one,” Wright remarked.

Sliced rotisserie chicken was also the star of “The Po’pe boy,” which also included pepper Colby-jack cheese, bacon strips, romaine lettuce, tomato and Louisiana hot sauce.

This week’s entries included “THE POPE-WICH” (ham, turkey, roast beef, bacon, Swiss cheese, romaine lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and deli oil) and “POPES PASTRAMI” (pastrami, Swiss cheese, romaine lettuce, tomato, spicy mustard and deli oil served hot and toasted on a hoagie roll).

When Pope came to Big Blue Deli on Friday, it was “POPES PASTRAMI” that was the special of the day.

“The first thing I told him is, ‘Thank you and welcome back,’” said Wright, who gifted Pope a Kentucky hat from ONENESS, a sneaker boutique with locations in Lexington and Louisville.

The UK coach ordered the special named in his honor (without any changes) and “he smashed it, too” in the words of Wright, who added that the POPES PASTRAMI will likely now become part of the full-time menu at Big Blue Deli.

Even prior to Pope’s return as the Wildcats’ basketball coach and his arrival at Big Blue Deli, Kentucky’s achievements on the hardwood were celebrated as part of the restaurant’s menu. Eight of the regular sandwiches offered by Wright are referred to by numbers — 48, 49, 51, 58, 78, 96, 98 and 12 — which correspond to the years UK has won a national championship in men’s basketball.

Wright said POPES PASTRAMI will occupy a full-time spot on the Big Blue Deli menu until the Wildcats win another national title, and a numbered sandwich takes its place.

Other menu staples include the “Undeniable,” “Unforgettable,” ‘Untouchable,” “Unbelievable” and “The Runt,” further tying in UK’s basketball lore with Wright’s behind-the-counter skills.

As a Central Kentucky native, Wright has long been passionate about Kentucky basketball.

While Wright went on to attend Georgetown College, spending time at Rupp Arena — be it watching Sweet 16 games in the high school state tournament or attending UK basketball games with his uncle — has been a staple of his life.

Wright grew up with Tony Delk and Allen Edwards and Jamal Mashburn. He was at the original Two Keys Tavern, the famed UK campus-area bar, in 2012 for the Wildcats’ most recent national championship, having arrived at 8 a.m. to secure a spot inside.

The interior of Big Blue Deli reflects Wright’s passion for Kentucky sports, and the vast majority of the decor inside relates to the men’s basketball program.

Many of these items — including a framed front page of the Lexington Herald-Leader from April 2, 1996, celebrating the national championship Pope won at Kentucky as a player — hit the sweet spot of nostalgia that UK fans are currently experiencing during Pope’s first weeks as head coach.

You can count Wright among that group.

“I was really excited to have an old player (hired) that’s kind of gotten this fan base back into it,” Wright said of Pope being hired to replace former coach John Calipari.

“I feel like it’s been a couple years since random people have talked about UK basketball, but all my text threads are full of it. My mom certainly called me. People I haven’t heard from in a while sending me texts. It’s a big deal in this town.”

During his visit Friday, Pope signed two new pieces of memorabilia for Wright: a 1996 national championship hat and a poster with Pope playfully depicted as the head of the Catholic Church.

“BIG BLUE DELI IS STRAIGHT FIRE!” Pope wrote next to his signature.

How does Wright feel after successfully getting Pope to visit his restaurant?

“It kind of shows what this program, kind of a new direction. It’s going to be approachable,” Wright said. “And also it’s somebody that lived through all the craziness of being a UK player. I think he understands the craziness of the UK fans.”

BIG BLUE DELI

Service options: Dine-in, Carry-out, Catering

Address: 227 North Limestone

Telephone: 859-303-4427

Hours: Monday-Friday 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Instagram: @big_blue_deli

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