McAlister's Deli now open on Randall Road
If you went to Illinois State, University of Illinois or Purdue, you might be happy to see one of your favorite college eateries now open along the Randall Road corridor.
McAlister's Deli opened at 1492 S. Randall Road in Geneva on Oct. 12.
If you walked into the casual dining restaurant on opening night, you may have thought there was an ISU reunion going on.
Alumni and current college students just had to stop in, seeing that one of their favorite eateries now was close to home.
“A lot of people who went to those schools have located here, and they were so happy to see that we had opened in this area,” said Carole Holland, a spokeswoman for McAlister's Deli.
While there are several McAlister's Delis in the south, as well as in college towns like Carbondale, Champaign, Normal and Peoria, the location along Randall Road in Geneva is one of only two in the Chicago area. There also is a McAlister's Deli now open in Naperville.
Holland describes the restaurant as fast casual dining.
Patrons come into the restaurant, order their food, and then get table service after that. The servers bring the food to the table and bring drink refills, she said. They also clear the food.
There is no tipping, she added.
“It's just a lot of hospitality,” Holland said.
McAlister's Deli is known as serving American regional favorites, she said. They have the best food choices from different areas of the country, she said.
For example, they have muffalettas from New Orleans, and corned beef and Reubens from New York.
The restaurant always offers six different soups daily.
McAlister's Deli originated in 1989 in Oxford, Mississippi, and has grown throughout the south and southeast, Holland said. It has seven delis in downstate Illinois. In addition to the locations now in Geneva and Naperville, several more are planned for the Chicago area.
“We were a little nervous bringing a new brand to the area, but we found so many people who knew the brand and who loved it,” Holland said.
“The reception from the community has been wonderful and better every week since we opened,” she said.
She said McAlister's Deli intends to be a big part of the communities along the Randall Road corridor.
The business has already been doing fundraisers for groups at the local high schools in Geneva and Batavia, and plans to do some for groups in St. Charles and other areas along the Randall Road corridor soon.
Holland said McAlister's Deli chose the Randall Road corridor and Geneva to introduce the restaurant to this area because of the growth and the community.
“Over the past 10 years there has been so much growth,” she said. “It's just a great area to be a part of. The residents really get involved with their community. It's just a great area; we are happy to be a part of it.”
• Amy Williams' column covers all the news of business along the Randall Road corridor from South Elgin to Batavia. Contact her at randallbiz@comcast.net or at (847) 894-5036.