by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Three years ago, Nader Zarou and his wife, Sylvia, bought a delicatessen in the middle of one of Downtown’s most vibrant blocks, Adams Street between Laura and Hogan streets.
The Zarous are originally from Ramallah, Palestine. Their first venture after coming to America was a falafel stand in Ann Arbor, Mich., in the 1970s.
Twenty-three years ago, they moved to Jacksonville and took jobs with the Law Offices of Farah and Farah, two blocks from the restaurant. Sylvia, the sister of Eddie and Chuck Farah, went to work as office manager and Nader was an investigator for the firm.
Three years ago, they decided to purchase “John’s Delicatessen and Grille” on West Adams Street. Nader left the corporate private eye world to become a full-time restaurateur. Sylvia remains at the law firm but often comes to the deli during the lunch rush to run the cash register.
One of the first changes was the restaurant’s name. Zarou said he considered naming it after his wife, but ultimately decided to go with the more geographical “Adams St. Deli and Grill.”
Another thing that has changed is the menu. While retaining the traditional delicatessen fare of hot and cold sandwiches and salads, Zarou has diversified the selection with the addition of fried rice, quesadillas, taco salad, and occasionally, as a lunch special, lasagna, barbecue sandwiches or fried fish. He’s tried a lot of new dishes in the past three years and added what his customers liked to the regular rotation.
Some things haven’t changed. The restaurant doesn’t serve breakfast because of the lunch preparation time, said Cristy Austin, who manages the deli and greets customers from behind the sandwich board. Zarou and Austin spend each morning making chicken salad, egg salad, tuna salad, potato salad and coleslaw and slicing pounds of assorted deli meats and fresh vegetables.
“We make everything from scratch here every day. Every piece of lettuce is washed by hand. If we served breakfast, we couldn’t be ready for lunch,” she said.
The location, and possibly the family connection, has helped the deli develop a clientele of attorneys and judges to add to the other Downtown customers like accountants, office staff and construction workers. The deli does a lot of business between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., often selling out the daily special and some other items. Zarou said sometimes, running out of an item before closing time means it’s a hit with patrons.
“It makes us feel good when people tell us we have the best chicken salad they’ve ever had,” he said.
The deli retained many customers from the previous owners and has grown its roster of regulars. Zarou said being Downtown brings its own flavor to the business.
“We see new faces all the time,” he said.
Austin, who worked in the grocery store deli business before she came Downtown, said seeing great customers every day is what makes her job so enjoyable.
“I’ve made friends. The best compliment is when people come here for lunch on their day off and bring their kids if school is out. When customers move, they come back for lunch when they’re Downtown,” she said.
While the interior design of the deli hasn’t changed, the atmosphere, anchored by a wall mural depicting the Northbank skyline, is something Zarou added.
He hired a professional artist to paint the mural, but gave it a personal touch.
“I painted the bird,” he said.
Adams St. Deli & Grill, 126 W. Adams St. next to Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, is open 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Friday. Call 475-1400 for takeout orders or catering.
356-2466