Kate Cutillo considers her customers family. She knows their names. Her staff even keeps a list of regulars' favorite orders on the wall.

It’s a bond that comes with responsibility for Kate and the women working in the kitchen of Kate’s Corner Deli.

We’re not just the corner deli, we’re people’s therapist. We’re people’s friends,” said Cutillo, the business' owner.

A Green Island native, Kate comes from a family of seven children.

“My mom cooked every night, so I don’t know anything other than home-cooked food,” Cutillo says.

Kate credits her mother Maureen, a well-known community volunteer, with instilling in her a sense of compassion. When she became ill recently, Kate stepped aside to care for her.

"We didn’t know that what she had going on, as in cancer, was as severe or as progressed as we were ever led on to believe," said Cutillo.

In June, Maureen passed away. Kate was able to keep the deli open, thanks in part to a micro-enterprise grant she received in April from the county and Capital Region Chamber of Commerce worth nearly $22,000.

“The grant came at a fortunate time because, yes I added staff but it also allowed me to take care of my mother the past two months,” Cutillo said.

The money was also used to buy new equipment.

Since returning, one of the greatest sources of comfort has been her customers.

“Everyone walks in and they give you a hug. They just want you to be OK, and it goes both ways,” said Cutillo.

Cutillo says she hopes to open a second location.