Husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Dan and Jill Crouse are reviving an Otego classic.
The pair reopened Jake’s Deli at 401 Main St. in Otego, Monday, April 7.
Dan Crouse, 55, said he and Jill, 34, are hoping to re-establish the eatery’s place in the community.
“My background is certainly not in food service; I’ve been working at IBM for the last 28 years as an electrical engineering manager,” he said. “I have a master’s, and my undergrad in physics, but Jill was working at Sal’s New Classic Pizza, right in Oneonta, and, when Jake’s went up for sale, I liked the idea of her being closer and not working nights, and she liked the idea of running her own place.
“We weren’t looking to own anywhere — but if it wasn’t Jake’s, it wasn’t going to be anywhere,” Crouse, an 18-year Otego resident, continued. “We weren’t looking to run a deli; we were looking to run Jake’s.”
Crouse said, once in motion, things moved quickly.
“The place listed in early October and we came that day, put an offer in, and it got accepted that day,” he said. “We’re the sixth owners, and I think it was in the ‘70s that it became a deli. Jill did a deep dive and found out it was a laundromat and a gas station some time in the past.”
Crouse said he and Jill plan to bring back favorites while focusing on high-quality sourcing.
“We have Boar’s Head Deli Meat, so we’ll be doing subs,” he said. “And we met with the owners two previous ago — Bob and Claire (Swislosky) — who helped us and made it famous for their subs. They told us how they made them and we’re going according to their plans. They’ve been extra generous with their time. And Carm and Lou (Keyser) from Tax Resolutions were very helpful, too. We’ve been working with them, and they were the accountants for several of the previous owners.
“So, it will be subs, breakfast sandwiches — which will feature Boar’s Head sausage and bacon, and eggs from our little homestead,” Crouse continued. “And we’re going to have a daily special for dinner, but that’s not set in stone; we’re going to experiment for a little while. The base menu is small — breakfast sandwiches and subs — and then appetizers. We want to focus on the subs and breakfast sandwiches and we’ll slowly expand our menu to include more options for dinner.”
Crouse said he hopes that expansion will continue after procurement of pending beer, tobacco and lottery licenses.
“When we first open, we’ll be missing those three things, but that’s in the works and we’ll start offering that as soon as we can,” he said.
Crouse said the community has been “overwhelmingly supportive” at the prospect of Jake’s Deli returning.
“We couldn’t ask for more,” he said. “People have been stopping in to check in and see and take a look and we’ve gotten nothing but positive feedback,” he said. “I expect (the clientele) will be the village and town of Otego. (Earlier this month) Jill and I were competing against each other for the chili cookoff for (Otego) EMS, and against Boar’s Head, and that’s what we want to be: involved in the community, the fire department, that kind of stuff. I didn’t want to own a place outside of Otego. I wanted it to be close and local.”
Jake’s Deli will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.
For more information or to view a menu, find “Jake’s Deli” on Facebook.