I used to frequent this place quite a bit in the past before the new owners took over…read more
Speaking only from my experience, this place has changed a lot, prices have gone up but that's not a shock, everywhere you go nowadays and doesn't have to be even a decent deli, sandwiches are ridiculously expensive, $16 for a sandwich? Really? Or even more depending where you go. Frankly I don't know how anyone can afford it any longer but that's a different story.
The new owners still don't even seem to know what they are doing after I would say 3yrs now, maybe even more since taking over this place.
I used to love going here, now I go maybe once every 3 months if even that and I know why.
The service is not the same, the owners are clueless and the food doesn't taste the same at all. The atmosphere of feeling like you are at home when most everyone but mostly the owner remembered you, would come talk to you, helped you and knew what she was taking about, is all gone.
I was there yesterday for one of my favorite sandwiches, meatball sandwich. I like that the meatballs are small, not a size of a baseball or even larger, just perfect size, tasty etc.
I go up to the register and instead of his clueless wife when you ask her a question and she looks at you as if you're from another planet then has to go and ask one of her employees which that in itself looks totally bad, this time was her husband who looks to me for now the 4th time through the year I visited, that should just stick to staying in the gym since he looks like someone that takes care of himself that way, quite fit, and although nothing at all with that, perhaps leave the deli part of it to someone else and go back to working out instead, it seems his forte.
When I told him the sandwich I wanted, he clearly said to me "what would you like with the sandwich" a question I was never asked before because it simply came with a small bag of chips or pasta salad, so I asked what did the sandwich come with, "it comes" the word that he used "it comes with", not "extra charge" and he mentioned French fries, bag of chips while he pointed where the chips were, pasta salad. I said, "I'll try the French fries". Not ONE TIME he said to me that none of the items he mentioned to me were extra charge, I even told him, "oh they come with all that you just told me"? He said yes.
When I paid the total came to $24 dollars, the sandwich itself was $13.65 and a coke that I ordered was $3, how did it get to $24? Well, the French fries were extra cost. Had I chosen a bag of chips, the once he pointed at were also extra charge just like if I ordered pasta salad, I found out about the extra charge from the lady that brought me the sandwich and I asked why my bill was $24 dollars, SHE, not the owner told me about the extra charges. After I said to her, "why didn't or doesn't the owner tell you so instead of saying that these extras come with the sandwich" she looked at me and said "I don't know". She didn't even know however any of the prices of the sandwich they sell. These are the new employees now.
I know you are going to think why I didn't ask right away why my bill was $24 dollars. I didn't even think about it immediately, I was hungry at this point, the place was quite busy and I wanted to find a place to sit, no excuse, but didn't think about it right away. Not until I set down and then started thinking about why my bill was higher. That was my fault. I should have immediately asked and actually I should have gone to the owner afterwards and mentioned to him that he should tell the customers correctly, meaning do NOT SAY "IT COMES WITH" that means IS NOT EXTRA CHARGE. He needs to say that wherever we want with it, there is an extra, then up to the customer if he/she wants it or not.
The sandwich did not taste like the way it used to taste, meatballs still small but they were very salty, and the fries although I will say cooked pretty nice, crispy and all, a very small portion and also very salty.
Overall and sadly for me because I truly liked this place a lot with the previous owner, it's not a place I would go back to. The prices are as high and now higher than any other place nowadays, nothing spectacular, their bakery department is now very limited, used to be huge and very nice selections, they used to have a pastry chef in the back that made the best deserts, and I don't know if they also changed cook, but nothing tastes the same. The place is always very busy, so I am sure I won't be missed, I won't waste my money here again. The new owners should by now know what they sell, know how to interact with customers better, know the job they took over.
The owners before were absolutely wonderful and great to talk to, they would interact with you ask you if everything was ok, great service from the staff. I miss them and the new owners really need to step up, it's time.
The place also very dirty on floors, tables, trash cans totally disgusting and filthy.
