Specialties
Specialties include homemade soups, pasta dishes, and various green salads with homemade dressings. A recent addition: "New Deli Waldorf", with toasted pecans, apple, blue cheese and Poppy Seed Dressing, on spring greens. It's a hit.
New on the menu: "Watson Special" (with melted mozzarella, Dijon and grilled chicken on sliced French), a "Turkey Muenster Melt" (suffice it to say: it's awesome). We now have a Turkey and Pesto Sandwich too. And the Chicken Salad with Caramelized Walnuts is always popular. We offer house-cooked roast beef ( for French Dips, BBQ Beef, and other beef sandwiches).
Many vegetarian options are also available: The Mideastern w/ falafel and homemade tahini dressing, the Vege-Burger, the Roasted Pepper and Eggplant sandwich; also a Hummus sandwich with plenty of veggies. And more!
Top it off with a few homemade goodies (chocolate chip or oatmeal cookies, or brownies). We also make specialty pasta salads, sandwich trays, and more, for business lunches.
History
Established in 1985.
Starting out in 1982 as a small vegetarian burrito business in a tiny kitchen in San Pablo, Jennifer produced hundreds of burritos daily, under the name, "Foods for Thought". Three years and one baby later, husband Tom had quit his job to help full-time, and the couple moved into a commercial kitchen--the present location at the Del Monte Center. Thus "The New Deli" was created, providing some radical new food in the quiet town of Pinole.
In the beginning, there was carrot juice, made to order. The whole wheat flour was fresh-ground in the back room, for the pancakes on the breakfast menu. A vegetarian-style dinner menu included grilled tempeh or mochi, served with coconut ginger sauce and brown rice. The lunch menu was also more extensive; burritos were topped with fresh guacomole and salsa, made on the spot.
Time passes, another generation gets fed. The grandkids might even be sighted at The New Deli on occasion... it's still new to someone!
Meet the Business Owner: Tom and Jennifer C.
Tom and Jen have run The New Deli together for years. Preparing food was always on Jen's resume, and husband Tom has played a great supporting role, doing the "heavy lifting"-- all those behind-the-scenes things that keep a business going. Jennifer's kept it exciting, exploring and adding new recipes, writing a cookbook, and sharing her love of good food with others.
Over 30 years in the food business, Jen worked her way up, starting as a busgirl at a fancy restaurant in Michigan. She learned plenty at that job, enabling her to put together The New Deli's menu today. Tom has been the "Jack of all Trades", fixing whatever breaks, doing the paperwork, and keeping the deli stocked on supplies.
Son Miles is, yes, a rocket scientist with a family of five, while son Tyler still moonlights at the deli, working for the Piedmont police department as well. Tom and Jen are grateful; they have a great staff and many loyal customers.