How great is it to see the expansion of a Gold River business! Things have been a changing at the Deli, so if you haven’t been in yet so see what’s new, read on to see why you should! (FYI: Deli owner Dawn Dakin did a personal spotlight for the Buzz almost three years ago to the day, click on over to read.)
Please tell us a little bit about the Gold River Deli – when did you purchase it?
We purchased the Deli in Oct 2010. I worked in the Deli as a teenager in 1990 for a short time, it was booming back then. When we purchased it, not much had changed from when I worked there. Even the bell on the counter was still there! The Deli was for sale and I said to Dave, we should look into purchasing the Deli. He wasnt all that keen to begin with. Then we talked about the idea off and on for a couple months and 6 months later I said we should look into buying the Deli and I was floored when he said lets look into it. That was it…it all fell into place very easily. We are now business owners!
What made you decide to become a business owner in Gold River?
I have always had the intention to own my own business. I explored 3 or 4 other business ideas that I had interest in, but after doing the research, I didnt feel that they would be profitable in Gold River. My first thought was a pool hall, then a children’s toy/clothing store and a couple others, but they just didn’t fit here. I had never really considered purchasing an existing business, but I’m sure glad I did. The customers of the Deli are fun and loyal and the Deli is kind of an institution in itself here in Gold River. A lot of people have great memories of this place, and we are proud to be part of those memories!
How many employees do you have?
At the moment we have 12! Including myself. I have a great group that is a mixture of young and well myself not so young. They all have their unique talents and abilities I love the fact that for some of my staff, it is their first job and we are teaching them skills that will help prepare them for their future experiences. I take that part of my job pretty seriously and I feel privileged to be able to do that. I love having the young energy around. We want your experience at the deli to be enjoyable and these young ones sure keep things light and fun!
Please tell us a bit about your expansion and your new products/services.
We have recently installed a kitchen in the space next to the deli so we can cook pizza! We put a door through the wall to connect the two rooms. The pizza business just seems to fit with what the deli already has to offer, so it has been somewhat of easy transition. We also moved the chicken fryer into the kitchen, so that is where all the magic happens now! We are excited to provide Gold River with pizza including a delivery service. We will now deliver anything in the store!
Can you tell us the ways in which your business gives back to the community?
Whether it be to a student or an adult that comes in hungry and needs something to eat, or the deli bursary that we give to the high school graduate that shows community spirit. We provide as much support as we can.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
There are always challenges when owning any business anywhere, but the Deli has such great support from our customers that I can’t tell you how appreciative we are. As long as Dave and I own the Deli, you can expect to be treated with courtesy and respect, to have consistency in our hours and products and as much as things stay the same around here…there will always be changes around here! It keeps life fresh!
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