Elaborate fruit salads. Healthy sandwiches. Exotic teas. Entrepreneur Alex Marin has combined them under one roof at T-Deli in Hillcrest, which began offering last week a festive Sunday brunch replete with bottomless mimosas and hearty breakfast fare served both inside the deli and in its backyard bamboo garden.

Marin also owns the adjoining Bamboo Lounge, a stylish wine bar that formerly housed a tea café when he first sprung onto the GLBT business scene several years ago. Now, as neighborhood wine aficionados await swirling vino in their stemware at night, the T-Deli caters to daytime foodies on the hunt for affordable sustenance, which also includes unique homemade soups such as seven-grain, tomato-based fideo and colache – grilled cabbage soup with tomatoes, onions, zucchini, corn and mozzarella cheese.

Marin chalks up his success at T-Deli to affordability and quality, reflected in his business motto: “Eat well, drink healthy.” During busy weeks, he sells up to 100 sandwiches a day.

Paninis, wraps, tortas and traditional sandwiches served on rustic bread are priced mostly below $7.95, which in combo meals includes a featured tea of day as well as soup or Marin’s famous fruit salad. The latter incorporates mangos, watermelon, strawberries, pineapple, bananas, apples and kiwis that Marin handpicks from local farmer’s markets and specialty stores. The kaleidoscopic salad can also be ordered ala Carte in small or large sizes for under $8.

“We have one of the most beautiful and affordable fruit salads in town,” says Marin. “All of the fruit is cut to order. It’s among our most popular items.”

The sandwich board has its winners, too. Turkey, ham or roast beef tortas, for instance, receive a golden touch of fresh jalapenos and avocado along with the usual lettuce-tomato-pickle fixings. And from the vegetarian selection, the kitchen masterfully fuses mozzarella cheese, roasted red peppers, green bell peppers, red onions and mushrooms on artisan bread from Bread & Cie.

A brimming selection of aromatic loose teas contained in glass jars adorns the deli’s modest atmosphere, revealing Marin’s in-depth knowledge on the staple beverage.

“There are more varietals of teas in the world than there are wines – hundreds of thousands,” Marin professes.

The deli carries about 200 of them, including South African rooibos, a caffeine-free herbal tea that Marin says packs 50 times more antioxidants than green tea. The pulverized tealeaves are blended with natural flavoring agents such as blueberries, flowers of Provence or orange zest.

There’s also the hard-to-find gen ma cha, a sweet and delicate Japanese tea mixed with roasted rice, served often at matrimonial ceremonies in Japan. The inventory extends to fine oolong teas originating from regional areas of China and Japan, as well as chamraj from India, which ranks between green and black tea in flavor intensity.

Marin gravitated to teas while practicing Buddhism for 15 years. He has since taken master tea courses and regularly attends major tea conventions held in Las Vegas. Bringing nutritious food into the fold of his business seemed a natural fit to the myriad health benefits associated with drinking tea.

T-Deli is located at 1469 University Ave. It is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday; and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends. Sunday brunch is held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, call 619-682-4069.