Pappa Charlie’s Deli has been a center of Williamstown life since the original “Pappa” Charlie Nikitas opened the restaurant in 1976. Its menu offers over 60 hot and cold sandwiches, often named after important figures in popular culture, the College’s history, and the Town. But who are these lucky few with eponymous sandwiches, and how does one earn the coveted honor?
“The majority of the names are from actors who have been here through the [Williamstown] Theatre Festival, either acting or having a partner or significant other acting,” said Jennifer Karampatsos, who has owned the deli for the past 18 years. “A few of them are associated with the school. And then there are a few odds and ends that have been there so long I don’t know the backstory.”
According to Karampatsos, the precious titles are not bestown liberally. There have only been roughly four new names added in her 18 years at the shop — the most recent addition being Jenny Gersten, the former artistic director of the Williamstown Theatre Festival (WTF).
On the rare occasion that a star enters the Spring Street shop, staff will ask if they would like to design their own sandwich to add to the ever-growing menu. “Everybody we’ve dealt with has been very nice,” Karampatsos said. “Neil Patrick Harris was very excited when he got his sandwich.”
Some accept the honor without having tried the food at all. “Bradley Cooper is actually on the board, but he didn’t want a sandwich,” she said. “Go figure.”
What are the most popular menu items, you might ask? The Dr. Strangepork, Harry Jay Katz, and Richard Chamberlain are current fan favorites, Karampatsos said, but “it kind of ebbs and flows.”
Richard Chamberlain
Chamberlain, who became a teen heartthrob for his television performances in the 1960s, was a regular at WTF and Pappa Charlie’s. In an interview with the New York Times in 1981, he remarked on the serenity of the Town in contrast to the festival’s fast-paced atmosphere.
“I just discovered a lovely little swimming hole near my house,” he said. “It is so low key here that after rehearsals the crowd-conscious New Yorkers look at each other and say, ‘Where is everybody?’”
Lauren Graham
The Gilmore Girls star spent time in Williamstown while performing in a WTF production in the summer of 2002. On July 18, 2015, Graham lamented that she missed the Town and Pappa Charlie’s with a post on X. “Proud to be commemorated in hot turkey!” she wrote.
Gwyneth Paltrow
The actress has a long history with the WTF and Papa Charlie’s — notably reminiscing about her time in Williamstown with Matthew Perry after his death last year. “We drove out to swim in creeks, had beers in the local college bar, kissed in a field of long grass,” she wrote on Instagram. “It was a magical summer.”
While her mother, Blythe Danner, had a sandwich at the deli for decades, Paltrow’s eponym came later: A 1994 New York Times article reported that “her name has yet to go up on the sandwich board at Pappa Charlie’s with those of other actors at Williamstown, though that may change soon.” Evidently, it did.
Mary Tyler Moore
The legendary television actress also spent time on the Williamstown stage, including in a production of Love Letters, for which a poster hangs on the Pappa Charlie’s wall. Other stars in that production have names on the menu as well, including Edward Herrmann and Maria Tucci.
After selecting her sandwich, however, Moore committed to vegetarianism. A note beside the sandwich now reads, “Mary Tyler Moore has informed us she’s been a vegetarian for many years,” and Pappa Charlie’s offers a vegetarian option of the sandwich.
