AUBURN — Gailene Buckley didn’t want a wine store, a candy shop or a deli.

She wanted all three.

“We named it ‘Pastiche’ because in Italian it means ‘multiple art forms coming together,'” Buckley said. “That’s what this is.”

The store, shop and deli opened three weeks ago, offering wines not available in any other local store, kosher foods, thick New York-style sandwiches, imported Italian pasta and olive oil, gelato and candy.

“It’s totally unique,” Buckley said.

So far, the market is still discovering the place, located on the first floor of 2 Great Falls Plaza. It’s the same location that was occupied by TJ’s Restaurant for 15 years and most recently The Falls Restaurant.

Buckley and her partners — John Pulsifer and Laurier Maheux — hope the combination of different items will draw people. The deli food is prepared in the Manhattan style, with thick, meat-rich sandwiches served with a choice of sides including potato or pasta salad and pickle spears. Most cost between $6 and $8.

“We make our own corned beef,” Buckley said. Besides the sandwiches, they feature five soups each day. 

They are also working to maintain some staples of a kosher deli with matzo balls made daily, lox and whitefish.

“It’s a market that is not served very well around here and there’s a community,” she said. “We also want to carry some Greek foods.”

Buckley, a longtime restaurant worker, decided this fall to open the restaurant after talking with Maheux and Pulsifer. Maheux was looking for a new venture and Pulsifer had closed the City Side Grill in Lewiston after less than a year of operation.

The three were tossing around ideas when they began talking about Great Falls Plaza as an ideal location. They assumed it would be too costly until they met with building owner Thomas Platz.

“He did more than he had to,” Buckley said.

With the location set, the three made deals with several distributors, meant to ensure that they had a variety of products.

“We couldn’t carry what we wanted without them,” Buckley said. They made deals with Seacoast Coffee from Newcastle and Brunswick-based Gelato Fiasco for gelato.

And they set about putting their families to work. Pulsifer’s daughter and Buckley’s niece both took jobs there.

The business, officially named Pastiche Corks and Cupcakes Deli, is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Mondays through Saturdays

Almost immediately, they did well with the gelato. Fudge and pastries created by Pulsifer — “he’s a master,” said Buckley — were big Christmas sellers, and catering jobs soon appeared.

Lunch is their busiest time, so far.

“People are just figuring out that we’re open for breakfast,” she said.

Eventually, they hope to be busy for every meal. Though they don’t have a wait staff, tables are available.

Buckley hopes to soon make Pastiche into a destination for anybody looking for fine deli foods or kitchen wares. 

“Some things people can’t buy unless they go to Portland,” she said. “We want to change that.”

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