Sixth Former Ethan Pollack drives down Lancaster Avenue, making a right onto Ardmore Avenue and a quick left to arrive at Jeannie’s Deli, located next to a small dry cleaner. Pollack drives this same route every Saturday morning to get breakfast at around 11 a.m.
Pollack parks across and along the side of Cricket Avenue, a street that has spots lacking because of the bustle of Jeannie’s and the dry cleaners. Waiting for his turn, he looks both ways and crosses towards the deli’s entrance. The door looks as if it had been there ever since the place was built. It creaks when it opens, and slams shut behind him.
The beverage fridge is on the left wall, where Pollack grabs the half-and-half Snapple he buys every time. Walking up to the counter, Pollack sees a familiar face, Jeannie herself. She takes his order of a bacon egg and cheese on a bagel and a crumb-top muffin, cut in half with butter in the middle. Pollack sits down, enjoys his meal, and carries on with his Saturday.
“This place is just a part of my life now. I come every week, three times a week, and the food and service are always amazing,” says regular Jack Lyon.
Jeannie’s has been operating the same way for years, with a limited online footprint and a small kitchen to make a wonderful selection of breakfast and lunch food. The small deli brings an old-fashioned feel to Ardmore, a town that is rapidly modernizing. Many customers, including Pollack, come to Jeannie’s Deli to get away from the fast pace of our modern world and sit down to socialize and enjoy a delicious breakfast. Others, such as those working nearby, will stop into Jeannie’s for a hearty lunch before returning to their jobs.
Walking into Jeannie’s, the chip selection on your right reminds you of a classic deli, but what really makes Jeannie’s special is the chatter amongst workers, family members, and friends.
Walking into Jeannie’s, the chip selection on your right reminds you of a classic deli, but what really makes Jeannie’s special is the chatter amongst workers, family members, and friends.
“You gotta try this roast beef sandwich, one of the best I’ve ever had,” says one customer to another. “They do something special here.”
The orders come out and the conversations flow.
It’s not just a one-generation deli.
“Being able to have great food and spend time with family is just a great feeling that Jeannie’s provides.”
Ethan Pollack ’21
“My dad brought me to Jeannie’s the first time I ever came,” Pollack says. “It was after an Ardmore basketball game when we were both hungry. It was around lunchtime, so I ordered a cheesesteak. Being able to have great food and spend time with family is just a great feeling that Jeannie’s provides.”
Like Pollack, about half the customers that arrive on a Saturday morning are father and son or wife and husband. The deli tends to fill up after morning activities around 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., after a neighborhood baseball game or a morning meeting. Jeannie’s stands as the cornerstone of Ardmore delis.
While waiting for your meal, you can see exactly what is going on in the kitchen. The smell of food prepared right in front of you enriches the spring air that creeps in through the small cracks in the door. Jeannie’s deli hopes that you will find time to make the drive to Cricket Avenue on a Saturday morning.
Pollack says, “I just can’t not come to Jeannie’s.”
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