Loewen's Deli: A Father's Dream Fulfilled by Son & 'The Noone's New Yorker'

Bruce Loewen started Loewen’s Deli about four years ago, despite protests, at the time, from his family.

“When I opened up I put my last bit of everything into it,” he said. “My wife was flipping out. I mean she always trusts me, but whatever money I had left went into here.”

Four years later, Loewen said it was well worth it, and he said his wife agrees.

“She put a lot of her heart into this,” he said. “She comes in and helps out a lot.”

Loewen said he was working in another field, but his heart was always in food when he decided to embark on his new business venture.

“You know, I had a business in construction for 18 years and I always dreamt of doing a deli,” he said. “I thought about it for a long time. My dad was a firefighter and always wanted a restaurant. He had seven kids so he couldn’t do it and stuck with the fire job as well as side jobs. I like to think I kind of fulfilled my father’s dream. He came in here for the first two years and helped me out working for free. My younger brother came in too, and without them, I wouldn’t be here right now.”

Loewen’s Deli is located off the rotary in Foxborough, and is not in what one might call an ideal location for foot traffic, but Loewen said he’s built a stable customer base nonetheless.

“I’m off the main drag,” he said. “Basically, I’ve been lucky enough in this town. Everybody comes in and helps out. It’s definitely a struggle, it’s not like I’m making money, but I’m paying what I can to stay alive.”

Loewen’s sandwiches are named after many fixtures in Foxborough, such as "The Warrior," "The Taylor" and "The FHS."

“My wife actually had the idea to name them after schools in Foxborough,” he said. “We did it and it took.”

He said his most popular sandwich is named after a New York native who teaches in Foxborough.

“You know out of necessity comes inspiration,” he said. “Noone's New Yorker. That literally kept me in business for two solid years. A teacher (and high school boys' lacrosse coach), Matt Noone, came in and ordered a sandwich with mayo, garlic spread, bacon, mozzarella and roast beef. I tried it and said, "wow that’s really good,' and I asked him you mind if I put this out under your name and I did.”

He said the popularity of the sandwich skyrocketed past anything he expected.

“It started putting the name on the place,” he said. “People from other towns were coming in asking to try the Noone's New Yorker. I was so lucky he came in and got that sandwich, it was a real staple for me.”

Loewen said the shop donates to the local schools and the discretionary fund of the town.

“I try and do whatever I can do,” he said. “I’m not saying that as a marketing ploy. I do what I can but sometimes the funds just aren’t there. In the winter, we had a ladies night and we donated $1,500 to the town’s discretionary fund. I think that year it was turkeys for families in need.”

Loewen’s is located on 17 Bird St. and is open Monday - Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and closed Sundays. The deli shop is now also delivering from 2 to 7 p.m.

"We will deliver delicious homemade dinners to your door," Loewen's Deli said via Facebook. "We always have chicken parm, meatballs and lasagna and depending on the day we will have other favorites like Chicken Piccata, etc. WE will deliver our BBQ dinners as well."

View Loewen's new menu in the photo gallery above!