Jewish Deli In Southampton Adding 2nd Location

UPPER SOUTHAMPTON TOWNSHIP, PA —A traditional Jewish deli in Southampton will open a second location in nearby Montgomery County.

Manny's Deli Stop —which opened five years ago in the Gateway Center at 102 Buck Rd. —plans to expand with a second location at 4003 Welsh Road in Willow Grove. An exact opening date has not been announced yet, but , the company says it will be in the near future.

"We wanted to shake up the Jewish Deli scene a bit ... old school meets new school," co-owner Rob Woloshin said. "A big factor of this is our customer service. When you are dealing with a Jewish deli where part of the genre is finicky, hard-to-please patrons and an amiably adversarial staff, we did set a high standard in this category."

The new store is based on a detailed business plan with a custom-designed kitchen, service, and dining areas, and a new menu, with more emphasis on sandwiches and the deli grocery orders.

Woloshin co-owns the business with brothers Jeremy and Chase Thomas. They started the deli to "preserve, celebrate, and reinvigorate" the traditional Jewish Deli they experienced growing up with their parents and grandparents.

Manny's was named after a cook at Camp Nockamixon where the three stayed together as children in the summers.

At the original Manny's, they played with high-concept specialties like Chopped Liver & PBJ appetizers and Jewish Fried Chicken made with pastrami seasonings.

Reaching out to a wider audience with the second location, the owners hope to attract the traditional clientele as well as a younger crowd.

"Again working the dynamic of the old versus the new image of the Jewish deli and Manny's Deli Stop , in particular, social media produces really interesting engagements and dialog," Jeremy Thomas said.

The new growth strategy for the deli is building daily lunch and later afternoon dine-in business, deli retail as well as continuing to service a strong catering trade. The owners said the menu is popular with the suburban office crowd with daily lunch orders reaching up to 150.

Woloshin said the three boyhood friends are taking the new venture one day at a time but they have high hopes for the deli as a brand expansion opportunity.

"You never know. You might be eating at a Manny's at resort hotels, airports, and the one around the corner from your home sometime in the future," Woloshin said.