Changes Coming to Your Delis

By Bill Bickford - General Manager

Two months ago, I shared with owners that there would be changes coming soon to Wheatsville’s delis. In that email, I noted that significant shifts in sales patterns, ingredient costs, and the overall labor market have forced us to take a hard look at our deli operations. We found that certain menu items and programs no longer made economic sense for your co-op. Yet we also know that some of these items have dedicated fans, which makes the decision to move in a different direction both difficult and important to get right.

In the wake of that email, I received a variety of feedback regarding items people wanted to ensure were retained. So let me begin by addressing some things that are not changing:

Popcorn Tofu isn’t going anywhere! It will continue to be offered in all the formats you currently know and love with some exciting new ones added as well (more on that in a minute!).
Vegan donuts were recently relaunched, and we hope to further expand those offerings moving forward. Check out our Pumpkin Spice flavor if you haven’t already!
Several folks cited specific grab & go favorites that were important to them—especially our Gingered Tempeh Pasta Salad, Thai Pasta Salad, and Raw Deal, among others. There is no immediate change to our Grab & Go programs, so rest assured these items will all still be there!
There is also no pending change planned to our hot or salad bars, though we will continually explore new recipes to add variety or better meet your needs.

So we will still have you covered on our most popular items. Our hot bar and grab & go items make up 75% of deli sales, which means that the coming changes will ultimately impact a minority of the department.

“Friendly, Fast, and Fresh”

Where change is necessary is at our service counters. As stated in the prior email, our goal is to make our deli counter faster for customers and easier for staff. To do this, we need our staff to have fewer tasks to juggle, simplifying training and making daily operations smoother overall. And we want you, our customer, to be able to get in and out as quickly possible, respecting your limited time. Our mantra throughout this work has been to build something Friendly, Fast and Fresh.

All change comes with loss

In order to get there, we’ll need to reduce the number of unrelated tasks counter staff are responsible for and ensure those that remain are as efficient as possible—a change we believe ultimately benefits both staff and customers. But this also means that we must first let go of some things:

Custom sandwiches will be discontinued (with one major exception noted below). This is perhaps the most significant change, and I sympathize with the owners it will inevitably disappoint. I will personally mourn the loss of our BLT, just as I’m sure each reader will lament their own personal favorite. Unfortunately, our sandwich program is labor-intensive for staff, slow for customers, and requires a number of unique ingredients that prevent us from simplifying our menu. We simply cannot create capacity for a new program of any significance without this one first giving way.

Espresso drinks will become self-serve. Coffee technology has reached a point where a latte or cappuccino can be made without direct staff involvement and with minimal customer wait time. Our friends at Texas Coffee Traders, who have serviced our delis for decades, are procuring equipment that will allow customers to get barista-quality beverages at the touch of a button, complete with both dairy and non-dairy milk options. While this may feel unfamiliar at first, I can attest from experience that the end product is quite excellent! When this program is ready for launch, we will ensure co-op staff are available to familiarize customers with the new process.

Smoothies have already been discontinued at Guadalupe and soon will be at South Lamar. Like sandwiches, these are labor-intensive to make, and their low sales volume unfortunately does not justify the investment in space, equipment, labor, and ingredients. We may explore a third-party smoothie or juice vendor in the future, similar to our current sushi programs. The current smoothie programs, however, must regrettably be discontinued for now.

What Comes Next?

Bowls, Wraps, Tacos, and…Po’Boys?

The heart of our new deli counter program will be a customizable menu of bowls, salads, wraps, and tacos. These will be made-to-order, with all ingredients visible to the customer and a staff member actively walking you through the options, assembling your order in real time. We are currently finalizing ingredient choices that will both honor our past and provide a wide array of options for customers to choose from.

Allow me to share some of the reasons I am so excited for this program:

Customers and staff will interact throughout the process to ensure your order is exactly the way you want it.
We don’t want to slow you down! Because your order is assembled as you give it, it can be delivered to you in the shortest possible time. No more awkwardly waiting while you scroll through your phone!
In addition to traditional protein options like chicken or beef, we plan to offer our world-famous Popcorn Tofu fresh from the fryer as an option for bowls and wraps!
Because Popcorn Tofu will already be on the line, and because the necessary veggies will be as well, there is actually one hot sandwich we can still make at the counter—our signature Popcorn Tofu Po’Boys, now served fresher than ever before!
We have the flexibility to continually experiment and offer new ingredient options, either permanently or on a limited-time or seasonal basis.
The same equipment needed for customer-facing bowls and wraps can also support a robust breakfast taco program before 11 am. While we will still offer tacos in grab & go form on our hot bars, we plan to revitalize the custom breakfast tacos we were once known for.

Hot Grab & Go Sandwiches

The loss of custom sandwiches need not imply that you can’t still get a hot sandwich on your next visit. Over the past few months, we have experimented with grab & go sandwiches served hot and ready-to-eat. Versions of two familiar favorites—the Italian and the Vegan Rueben—can be found at both delis along with our (all-new!) Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich, which has already found fans among many of our staff. We’d love for you to try it!

Did You Say Fresh from The Fryer?

For many years, our most important signature item—a product almost synonymous with Wheatsville itself and featured in national “best of” lists and articles—has been our word-famous Popcorn Tofu. And yet we believe it has even greater potential! By frying smaller batches throughout the day and having it available fresh on our counter, we believe we can offer the best imaginable version of this all-time favorite. We have tested this at recent events, frying fresh sample batches on our patios, and the response has been tremendous! We want this to be an everyday experience at the co-op. In addition to putting Popcorn Tofu in a wrap or bowl, you’ll be able to order it à la carte with a dipping sauce or in a fresh Po’Boy—original or Buffalo.

Timeline

While I’m excited to implement these new programs as soon as possible, there are a number of important milestones that must still be achieved before we can launch—most notably equipment and millwork, both of which have been subject to long lead times. Quite frankly, this makes it difficult to give a firm timeline.

I’ve also made an important promise to our staff. No matter what else may happen, we will not launch a new program during the lead-up to Thanksgiving—a time when our deli transitions to a completely different menu and ramps up production significantly. This means that if we cannot launch by the first week of November—just a few short weeks away—we will not do so before December at the earliest.

With that said, as of press time, here is the best time estimate I can provide:

At South Lamar, where the current counter configuration is closer to what’s needed, we hope to launch the new program at the end of October. As Halloween approaches, we will be sure to update owners and shoppers via our weekly email, social media, and in-store signage.
At Guadalupe, where more extensive millwork and equipment changes are necessary to support the program, we will simply not be able to launch before December. Look for an update after the Thanksgiving holiday.

In the meantime…

Whew! That was a lot to cover, and I have no doubt it was also a lot to take in. While I’m thrilled to finally share where we’re headed, I also recognize that there may be a sense of loss for customers—myself included—when a familiar favorite finally disappears. Should you find yourself feeling that loss, I would offer a few suggestions:

Come and see us! Custom sandwiches aren’t gone yet, and smoothies are still available at South Lamar. Come enjoy one before they’re retired!
Prepare yourself to try something new! Change can be scary, but it can also be exciting. Whatever you may think about the changes outlined above, I hope you’ll give the new menu a genuine try when it launches.
Your feedback is still welcome. While I believe a change to our deli counter programs is necessary for a number of reasons, there are decisions still yet to be made and areas where adjustments may be possible. And even where I may not be able to satisfy a request, it is always worthwhile to hear from our owners on any topic. Please email us at [email protected] with any suggestions or feedback you’d like to share.

In closing, I’d like to thank the loyal co-op owners and customers who have consistently supported our delis over the years. Your patronage has been critical to our past successes, and we sincerely hope you’ll join us for the next chapter in our ongoing evolution.

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