Culinary grads put their stamp on The Deli

Oct. 20—WINDSOR LOCKS — Adam Brick and his wife, Sarah, have been out of culinary school for only about six years, but when the opportunity came for them to have their own establishment, they jumped at the chance.

The intimate restaurant on Ella Grasso Turnpike, simply known as The Deli, opened under their management in 2019.

If You Go

THE DELI

Address: 329 Ella Grasso Turnpike, Windsor Locks.

Hours: Monday — Friday: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Menu: Numerous classic and specialty sandwiches; salads, smoothies.

Miscellaneous: Catering available.

Contact: 860-623-2400; www.thedeliwl.com

"The previous owner was a friend of my mother's," Adam, a graduate of Johnson and Wales University, said. "She wanted to sell the deli and retire and she asked if I would like to do it since I was a culinary school graduate. I had been working at restaurants for a few years and I was willing to take on the challenge.

"I thought it was a good first step as a restaurant owner," he said. "I didn't think it would be something where I would be throwing myself into the fire right away, (such as) owning a big bar or restaurant. I thought this would be a good first step to gain managerial practice to understand how a restaurant works and how owning a restaurant works."

Adam said he worked as a line cook all over the country during and after his time as a student, including at Manchester Country Club before taking over the The Deli. He said it was a welcome change of pace for him.

"It was something I hadn't done before," Adam said. "I was always doing dinners. I never really worked at a lunch place or a sandwich place."

When it came to preparing The Deli for opening, Adam found his creative inspiration from his time working on Martha's Vineyard.

"There's an old sandwich shop I used to go to in Martha's Vineyard," he said. "It's pretty much the inspiration for this place. I loved their concept and their sandwiches and I thought this would be a good opportunity."

When designing the menu, Adam said his goal was to make everything as fresh as possible, including getting bread from Sanremo Bakery in Berlin every two days.

"We changed everything about how this place was run besides slicing the meat," he said. "I brought in a lot of my sense of using fresh flavors, fresh ingredients. I use a lot of local produce when it's in season as well. I try to make everything fresh every day. I try not to cut corners.

"It's a completely new menu from when we took over," he said. "We've shrunk it down to a more manageable size. We have something for everybody. We have a great build-your-own sandwich as well. So you can build whatever you want that we can accommodate. We really are about giving the guest what they want."

Adam's personal favorite sandwiches are drawn from his own life. The Mackinac Club, a turkey, bacon, cranberry relish, lettuce, tomato, and garlic mayo, he said is based off a sandwich he made early in his career.

"All I was allowed to do there was make salads and make sandwiches," he said. "That turkey club, I probably made over 600 of them over the summer. It would be a good homage to where I first started. It's actually one of our most popular sandwiches."

The Fuller Street, a roast beef, coleslaw, horseradish sauce, and Swiss cheese, was inspired from his time at Martha's Vineyard.

"Fuller Street is a beach at Martha's Vineyard where I met my wife when we worked there together," he said.

"She's an integral part of all of this," he said of his wife, Sarah. "We wouldn't be here without her."

Sarah is responsible for all the artwork in the restaurant, Adam said.

Sarah, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, said she and Adam came up with the recipes together.

"Everything about it is Adam and I thinking of ideas," she said. "It's nice to be creative here. We both really enjoy doing that."

Sarah said her personal favorite dishes are The Smokey Blues and the Deli Deluxe.

"They taste really good," she said. "The Smokey Blues has smoked turkey, bacon, barbecue sauce, coleslaw, pickles, and Swiss cheese. The Deli Deluxe is ham, turkey, lettuce, onion, American cheese, and mayo, but I use honey mustard."

Adam said they also offer specials that change about every three days.

"We post our specials on Facebook every day," he said. If a special does well, it can end up on the regular menu.

"We're always open to adding things to the menu, especially if it sells really well," Sarah said.

Another highlight on the menu is The Deli's smoothies.

"Nothing is made with ice or water," Adam said of their smoothies. "Everything is made with fresh frozen fruit and almond milk and agave nectar for sweetener. It's all vegan, gluten-free, vegetarian. I love the smoothies. I think it's a great concept we have here."

He said that the two of them have become comfortable with their current situation at The Deli.

"I really enjoy the lunch crowd," he said. "I really enjoy the hours we do. It's less stress than working at a restaurant with a bar and everything."

He and Sarah said they would like to expand their restaurant to be able to seat more people and also get more equipment that would help expand their menu.

"If we could replicate this and add a few more things in a bigger space, that would be ideal," Adam said.

"A bigger space would definitely help us," Sarah said.

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