CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – Not too many business owners can say they’ve switched from renting videos and fixing computers to owning a popular restaurant in downtown Charlottetown.
But that’s the career path that Fouad Haddad has followed as the owner of Downtown Deli.
“I come here, it’s not because I come to work. I come here because it’s part of my lifestyle. I like dealing with the people. I’ve always been up front and centre with the public. And, I think if I stopped doing that, I’d be really lost,” said Haddad.
This year, Downtown Deli is celebrating 10 years in business.
“A lot of early mornings. A lot of prep. Sometimes you don’t see the background work that goes into it. And then, when lunch time comes, it’s happy hour for us. People line up and we try to serve them as best as we can and as fast as we can. But most important is to serve them the best of quality and make sure we’re doing it the best way we can.”
To mark the 10-year anniversary, Haddad has been selling any sandwich with a garden salad for $10 for the past couple of weeks.
Haddad got his first taste of the food business at his parent’s store Haddad’s Grocery at 25 Pownal St. Haddad’s parents came to Canada from Lebanon in the early 1950s and opened the store around 1961.
Haddad recalled delivering groceries when he was 10 years old on a single-speed bicycle.
“I still have that bike,” he said.
In 1986, Haddad opened Variety Video. Interestingly, the deli is located in the same space as the former video store at 58 Grafton St. Haddad decided to close the video store in November 2007, largely due to improved Internet technology and the increasing availability of movies online.
After a couple of months of renovations, he opened the deli in January 2008.
Prior to opening, Haddad made some trips to Montreal to visit some well-known smoked meat sandwich vendors, such as Schwartz’s and Dunn’s Famous.
Haddad realized that in order to be competitive with other downtown restaurants, he needed to offer a product that was unique, different and in demand.
“I thought I’d bring this concept to P.E.I. Nobody was actually serving it here. So, that was the premise of the whole thought and process of doing a downtown deli,” he said.
Initially, the business also sold sliced deli meat and cheese, but later changed to focus on sandwiches.
“At the end of the day, you know what’s going to work. So, it looked like meat by the slice or cheese by the slice wasn’t something on demand here. So, we stuck with the gourmet sandwiches ... And, each and every one of them is unique,” he said.
Haddad buys local, including bread from Buns and Things and Sobeys. The exception is the smoked meat briskets that come from Montreal.
“It’s the real deal. Two-hundred grams of smoked meat on marble rye bread with mustard.”
The anniversary campaign has brought some new faces into the business. Customers have even persuaded him to continue offering the special next month.
Haddad jokes that for the deli’s 20th anniversary in 10 years, he might have a $20 special.
“We’ll have to see,” he said with a laugh. “Time will tell.”
