The Local Source for News and Information Since 1980
DENTON – There is nothing like Bullock’s Deli because it’s more than a delicatessen. It’s a destination.
It’s a place to celebrate victories, hold informal meetings, grab a bite to eat, fill up your vehicle, pick up a 6-pack and supper and homemade salads and dog treats. You can buy lottery tickets or grab a fountain soda or donuts and specialty baked goods or local wines or candy or stuffed toys – and even flowers and county boat ramp stickers.
During its 50 years, celebrated March 1, 2026, Bullock’s has grown to meet the needs of the Caroline County community and beyond.
“Fifty years – not everybody lives to do that,” founder Rick Bullock said recently. “I’ve loved every minute of it. I have been a blessed man.”
The sprawling building is located on the corner of North 6th Street and Camp Road in Denton. And it’s always busy.
While Rick has stepped back from daily operations, the store is managed by his daughter Michele Bullock Amalfitano. She was six months old when her parents founded the business. “She’s the boss now,” Rick said. “She’s running it all. Thank God for her.”
A new logo was commissioned for the anniversary year, invented by graphic designer Greg VandeVisser, who created the original logo that features the nostalgic pink 1959 Cadillac.
“We wanted something different for the 50th, not really having any idea of what to do other than just, let's just knock this one out of the park,” Michele said. “(Greg) said, ‘I just thought it was fitting, since the country is 250 years old this year, to tie this in with your 50th.’ He couldn't have done that any better.”
Humble beginnings and hard work
Across Camp Road is a vacant lot Rick owns and on which he hopes to build a small shopping center. But 50 years ago, it was occupied by Thomas and Anna Lockerman’s home and small country store and gas station.
In his early teens, he helped out the Lockermans in the afternoon, learning how to run the tiny store. When he was 15, he began working at Doc’s Quick Stop which stood at the corner of Gay and 6th streets. He stayed there about seven years.
Married in 1972, Rick and Betty purchased the business from Anna four years later. “We were there for four years, and just outgrew it extremely fast,” he said. Rick was also employed at ACME Market in Centreville.
“For six months, we juggled this whole store and ACME Market, and I finally thought, well, my wife is just becoming so busy during the day, maybe if I give the job up at ACME and both of us put all of our attention into this store, maybe we can make a go of it. And that's exactly what happened,” Rick said.
In 1980, they bought property from the Gitta family and began construction on the current 5,500 square foot building.
They sold subs, sandwiches, deli meats and salads. In 2001, they added the grill – “the best thing we ever did,” Rick said. In 2008, they outfitted the popular ice cream parlor when they added 30 more feet to the building – “the second-best thing we ever did,” Michele said.
Locals enjoy familiar homemade fare like lima beans and dumplings, cold cut subs and cheesesteak sandwiches, Maryland crab soup, rockfish bites, strawberry pretzel salad, and – when local strawberries are on – Bullock’s famous strawberry shortcake. Betty Bullock’s delicious soup and salad recipes are made in bulk and packaged to take home.
“We stock up on Doc Martin lima beans and sell out every time we buy,” Michele said.
Serving the community, promoting local area businesses and innovating ways to attract customers are Michele’s priorities, as well. The Preston-based By Faith Coffee Co. truck helps brings in new faces; Millsboro, Delaware-based Tail Bangers provides gourmet dog cookies; Harvest Ridge Winery in Marydel is featured; and Denton-based Clayton Farms provides fresh local tomatoes and produce for summer sandwiches and salads.
Michele enjoys hosting local Little League and young soccer players, who can get a free scoop of ice cream following a game.
“It's a good spot for everybody to come after a ball game,” she said. “If you're out there in competition with each other, it's good … to have ice cream together. It’s good for us as well, honestly, because the parents come, the siblings come, grandparents come.”
The parlor, which evokes the past with vintage tables and chairs on a black and white checkered floor, serves 32 flavors of Hershey’s ice cream.
Michele even works with local schools that provide ice cream rewards and incentives for students. “It makes the kids happy, and honestly, they’re our future customers.”
The next generation steps up
“As the years passed, Rick and Betty continued to grow both their family and their business,” Bullock’s website states. “Raising three children – Ritchie, Michele, and Angie – while running a new deli was no easy task, but they made it work. ‘Working with family can be difficult and rewarding at the same time. The rewarding part is that we got to spend so much time together.’ The memories created during those years have become priceless treasures.”
Over the years, Rick’s parents, two sisters and other family members have helped. Michele’s husband Joe Amalfitano helps out, too, although his main employment is with his family’s business, The Sewing Outlet in Federalsburg.
In 2011, the Bullock family was rocked by devastating news. Rick and Betty’s youngest child Angie was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and lost her battle with the disease two years later at age 32.
Michele and her husband Joe raised Angie’s daughter Ashley, then nine years old, who is now 22 and recently married Willard Frazier. Ashley “brings organization and control to the business – lots of fresh ideas,” Michele said. “She has a beautiful personality and is great with the customers.”
While Rick and Betty’s oldest grandchild Kailee is a music instructor in Pennsylvania, the youngest grandchildren are vital contributors to the success of the business.
Michele and Joe’s young children, Joe and Angelina, are valuable team members. Joe, 13, “loves the kitchen,” Michele said.
“He’s been helping in the kitchen since the age of eight,” she said. “The smashburger is a big hit here and Joe created a sauce that makes our smashburger unique.”
At 11, Angelina helps her mom with the store’s social media presence on Facebook and Instagram. Michele said she helps with TikTok and is good at editing videos.
Rick counts his blessings daily.
“I've said it 1,000 different times: to be able to get up every day and go do what you want to do – who in the devil gets to do that?” he said. “And every day I've ever come through that back door, I've never taken anything for granted. I’ve appreciated everything in here. When I walk in here, it’s just – I can't believe it.”
These days, Rick pops into the deli when he wants. He misses the loyal customers who have passed away – many memorialized in photos along with those of family members – in a hallway off the ice cream parlor, just past a display cabinet housing just a small part of his beloved glass collection.
“I love seeing the customers,” he said. “I can come up here and, for instance, get my fill of socializing four, five, six, seven hours, … (and then) go home to my peace time. Then if I want to come back later for an hour, it’s great.”
“I told my mother one time, ‘Mom, I'm so grateful for the way that you raised all of us kids, because we were extremely poor. It's made me appreciate everything around me today,’ and it has,” he said.
For more information about Bullock’s, including the store schedule, menus and daily specials, please visit www.bullocksdeli.com, or their Facebook, Instagram or TikTok pages.
# # #
