Aleco Deli in Attleboro a True Word of Mouth Success

Peter Khoury took over Aleco Deli in Attleboro almost 10 years ago and he says it's the best thing he could have ever done.

"One of the things you get from this kind of job and business is freedom," he said. "When you work for yourself, it's hard to go back."

Khoury said he arrived in the United States from Lebanon in 1986, and worked in many different restaurants and jobs for other people. Now that he is his own boss, Khoury enjoys the independence. 

"Nobody will tell you what to do or ask, 'Hey, why are you sitting down?'" he said. "You don't have to take orders from anybody."

Khoury works strictly on word of mouth to promote his business; he's tried to do advertising in the past, but the results weren't as successful as he'd hoped.

"It never brought back what we spent," he said. "It's word of mouth with most of our customers. People eat here, they tell their family and friends to come here. We don't have the big name, only the good food here."

Khoury prepares and serves dishes from various regions, including Middle Eastern food, which satisfies the small population of people from that region living in Attleboro. 

"We only have a few items, as most people [in the United States] aren't familiar with Mediterranean," he said. "A lot of [Middle Eastern] people come here for the falafel, but it's a very popular sandwich in its home region. Hamburgers and pizza are very popular here. Every community and country has its own specialty dish, what you might call the common food."

Khoury said he prides himself on the homemade cooking he serves at Aleco. And "homemade" takes on a whole new meaning in his deli.

"Whatever we eat at our house, we prepare here," he said. "If I don't like something, I don't serve it. I don't buy the cheap stuff."

Aleco Deli is located at 494 Pleasant St. near the heart of town.