11/09/2026
A Little Food for Thought... From the Dov ❤️
Tonight I went out to dinner by myself. Had a New York strip steak, baked potato, green beans, and a Manhattan. With tax and tip, $56 for one person! Now imagine taking a family of four out to dinner. You're looking at $200, and that's just crazy!
But as a deli owner, I also understand the other side. My food costs have increased 25% to 30% over the past two years, yet I haven't raised my sandwich prices because I want people to be able to afford a good meal.
Am I the cheapest? Nope, and I've never claimed to be. But I serve quality food, and my 4.8 Google rating tells me I'm doing something right.
What people sometimes forget is that restaurants have rent, utilities, insurance, payroll, taxes, and a whole lot of expenses before the owner ever sees a dime. Sometimes we're lucky just to break even! I pay my employees a decent wage and put almost everything I make right back into the business.
But here's something else I want people to understand.
I absolutely LOVE what I do. Seeing someone enjoying something I've created, watching them smile after taking that first bite, hearing them tell me how much they enjoyed their food, that's worth a million dollars to me! That's what makes all the long hours, hard work, headaches, and sacrifices worthwhile. And I wouldn't trade that feeling for anything.
I'm 67 years old, and I just signed a five-year lease for our new DOV-A-LICIOUS location. Do you think I'd be doing that if I didn't love what I do?
But love alone doesn't pay the bills.
I need to make a living, my employees need to make a living, and the businesses I purchase my products and services from need to survive, too. If I lower my prices to the point where I can't make a profit, eventually I close my doors. And that doesn't just hurt me. It hurts my employees, my suppliers, my landlord, and everyone else who depends on businesses like mine. It all trickles down.
I understand why people complain about prices. Believe me, after tonight, I understand even more! But I'm trying to find that happy medium where my customers can afford to eat, my employees can earn a decent living, and DOV-A-LICIOUS can keep its doors open.
And that's where YOU, our community, come in.
The support I received at Southern Market meant more to me than you'll ever know. Now, as I prepare to open our bigger location at 1573 Manheim Pike, I'm hoping that support continues and grows.
DOV-A-LICIOUS serves a premium product, and that's something I will NEVER compromise on. Quality matters to me. My customers matter to me. And the smiles on your faces when you enjoy something I've made matter more than you can imagine.
I'm not trying to get rich selling sandwiches. I'm just trying to make an honest living serving good food at a fair price.
And with the continued support of this wonderful community, I hope to keep doing exactly that for many years to come.
Thank you for supporting this old deli guy and his dream.
Yea, it's DOV-A-LICIOUS! ❤️
