Restaurant business runs in Grandin family
By Mary Ellen Zanagara, Special Writer
Another new business has come to Main Street.
DJ’s Deli & Grill in the former Midtown Deli location at 11 S. Main St held its grand opening last week, and residents are encouraged to stop by.
Bill Grandin purchased the deli after it was closed for months. DJ’s Deli & Grill is named after each of Mr. and Mrs. Grandin’s brothers, who died.
Mr. Grandin said he knew Midtown Deli from when he worked in Bridgewater.
”I saw it was for sale and said ‘let’s do it.’ So we beg, borrowed and stole everything that we could, and here we are,” he said.
Mr. Grandin, a longtime customer of Midtown Deli, used to stand in line for 20 minutes at lunchtime and wait for Maryann Montone, the previous owner, to make his sandwich.
”I was looking for business opportunities on the Internet and saw a picture of a wall with all these pictures on it, and I said ‘I think I know that place.’ Sure enough, it was this place,” Mr. Grandin said. “I had lost my job back in November, and we were looking for something to do, and this is what we did.”
It took about two months to complete renovations from the time Mr. Grandin received the certificate of occupancy.
”It seemed like a lot longer. We have only been open for two weeks, but it seems like forever,” he said.
Being in the restaurant business runs in the Grandin family.
”I have a brother and a cousin that each own their own restaurants — one in South Carolina and one in Massachusetts — and it is kind of in the family being in the business,” Mr. Grandin said.
Mr. Grandin also has ties to Manville; his grandfather, William Grandin, was a teacher at Manville High School in the late 1970s.
Mr. Grandin laughed when asked about experience. He said he has run million-dollar trucking companies but never a restaurant.
”It is definitely a learning experience,” he said.
Mr. Grandin is lucky to have longtime waitress Rossi Alpaugh to help him through it. Rossi, as she is known to customers, has been in the exact restaurant location for 22 years. Jokingly, she said each time the business has been sold, she came with it.
”It wasn’t always about the food. It is a gathering place where everybody got to see each other and talk, and it was a fun place for me and the customers,” she said.
Mr. Grandin and his wife, Donna, are the owners. Their four children have been helping out the new family enterprise. One son did all the painting. Another son is in maintenance so he helped out with the plumbing.
DJ’s Deli & Grill right now has four employees: Rossi, head cook Josh Stryker and Adrian Correa, who helps with the cooking along with Mr. Grandin.
The menu is basic for now, and it is starting to add daily specials.
”I have been told that soup is a big item in town so I will be adding that in. We have our daily soups now,” Mr. Grandin said.
Another new wrinkle is the breakfast buffet Sundays.
”My family and I come in the morning and set up scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, toast, and we are hoping to catch people coming out of church and give them a good breakfast,” he said. “None of the prior owners were open on a Sunday, but Sunday is a big breakfast-out day for a lot of families. With all the churches in town and a lot of people on foot, we wanted to give them a place to relax on a Sunday morning.”
Menu items include breakfast combos, made-to-order sandwiches and subs, hot sandwiches, hamburgers and cheese steaks.
Mr. Grandin hopes to get all the old-timers back and fill up the counters once again.
”I wanted to brighten up the place, but really didn’t want to change it. A lot of people have a lot of memories here, and I want them to be able to see that still,” he said.
DJ’s Deli & Grill is open daily Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to p.m. as well as Sunday from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m.
To place an order, call 732-543-2727. Like them on Facebook and get deals by checking in from your mobile phone.