Given the
changing lineup of eateries lining Broadway in Eureka — with fast food and
chain restaurants crowding the corridor — it’s a wonder there were no pile-ups
as drivers craned their necks at the new sign for Pile High Deli replacing the
old one for Hole in the Wall (1331 Broadway). *Cue the crushing of chip bags in
anguished fists.
click to enlarge
Photo by Jennifer Fumiko Cahill
Pile High Deli’s muffaletta sandwich on Dutch crunch.
If you’ve
stopped in lately, you likely got a flier in your bag explaining how the name
of the business, which John Forest bought from the owners of the Arcata Hole in
the Wall in 1991, had to change before the place could be sold. It also assured
customers the sandwiches would remain the same. *Cue slight relaxing of
anguished fists around crushed chips.
In fact, in a
couple months, the Pile High Deli will be in the hands of current manager Jesse
Galloway, who’s been behind the counter for the past two years. “Everything’s
the same except for the name is kinda the catchphrase we’ve been throwing out
to everybody,” says Galloway. “I wanna keep that comfy family vibe we’ve always
had … staff who know your order,” he says.
Employee Stevie
Jessen says customers have been anxious but the sandwiches, down to the bread
from Fat Cat and Brio, remain exactly the same: made the same way with the same
ingredients by the same folks. The deli’s take on the New Orleans muffaletta
she puts together — granted, a relatively recent item on the menu — with olive
spread, roasted red peppers, prosciutto, provolone and Genoa salami on Dutch
crunch bears this out in its heft and generous filling. (OK, not the
traditional bread choice but I believe in following the advice of trained
experts, and she was not wrong about it being extra good that day.) That and
the wall of sleepiness one sometimes hits midway through the second half.
click to enlarge
Photo by Jennifer Fumiko Cahill
Stevie Jessen makes up a sandwich the same way as always.
After 31 years
in the sandwich business, Forest says, “My main takeaway is a huge amount of
pride in a business that when I purchased it, didn’t even pay the bills” and
now has a loyal customer base. “Right now, it’s just peaking — Jesse’s getting
in at a great time.”
Galloway
agrees. While other restaurants have struggled, business has actually been up
during the pandemic. “We’re not a sit-down place; we’re grab and go and we’re
quick. … We were fortunate,” he says, “very little changed for us to be able to
follow the rules.” He admits there was a dip in sales when traffic first
swelled for the newly opened KFC and In-N-Out Burger, but things returned to
normal after about a week or so each time.
click to enlarge
Photo by Jennifer Fumiko Cahill
Pile High Deli employee Stevie Jessen and owner-to-be Jesse Galloway.
That steady
customer base is one reason to keep things as they are, and happily, Galloway’s
own tastes align with the masses. “I have a sandwich [at Pile High] every day
and on my days off, I sometimes make an excuse to come in so I can make a
sandwich. It’s hard even at home to make one the way I can make a sandwich
there.”
Bio:
Jennifer Fumiko Cahill is the arts and features editor of the North Coast Journal. She won the Association of Alternative Newsmedia’s 2020 Best Food Writing Award and the 2019 California News Publisher's Association award for Best Writing.