Local Man Works at Deli

 Hi hi, Luqman here aka “Pak Tam”. 

Today I’m gonna talk about what I’m currently doing for a living; working in the deli at McLanahans.

    I generally wake up at 7:30 and head to work.  Once I get there, I punch in and start my morning by making some fresh bagels for work first.

Quiet Deli

  The deli technically opens at 8, so the sooner the bagels are done the better.  In the meantime I make sure everything is ready for the morning service, like checking to make sure we have eggs cracked and mixed, as well as cheese and breakfast meats such as bacon, ham, and sausage.

What the stove looks like when I arrive

I generally open solo, and around 10 or 11, I will be joined by another deli worker.  By this point, I probably have sold around 4-7 breakfast sandwiches.  At this time, I will generally have also cooked our batch of bread, enough to last us through lunch service. 

Bread Rack

It’s important to make enough bread, but not too much that we are left with un-optimal bread.

We make sure we have all the important things we need for making deli sandwiches, such as pre-sliced portions of meat and cheese, and make sure all of our toppings for sandwiches are ready.

Cheesesteak Meat, before being sliced

Around 11:30 or noon, we start getting our big lunch rush.  During this, I don’t have a lot of time to step away from the line, so we make sure we have everything ready before.

The steam tables set up for Meatball Monday, our busy weekday

Around 1:30, the line will die down.  How busy it is depends on day, weather, and if there are events going on, such as football season or special promotions.  I’ll generally start cleaning up any messes we have, grab a drink and a snack (hash browns are great for this), and start preparing more stuff we make.

Coconut milk coffee??

2:00 o’clock rolls around and the mid-day deli shift rolls in.  At this point, I will generally take a break from the line and start doing other things, like washing dishes or making pre-made deli wraps or sandwiches, which we sell for people in a rush.

Wraps

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This is a nice switch from interacting people, and generally signals near the end of my shift.  I make food or do dishes in the back room, which means I can play my own music instead of listening to whatever the radio is playing.

Why is mayo heavy duty? hmm

  Around 3-3:30 I generally end up finishing my shift.  I will often bring home an everything bagel with cream cheese, as well as whatever groceries.

It's fall :)

That's a pretty standard day for me! Thanks for reading :)