Schmaltz Deli to open in Wheaton as flagship celebrates 15 years
In the dreariest of days, Wheaton commuters will have the ultimate cure for the winter blahs: Jewish comfort food.
Schmaltz Deli is expanding to downtown Wheaton with a menu of commuter-friendly breakfast staples and the hearty pastrami and corned beef sandwiches that have made the Naperville flagship a tradition for 15 years.
The deli owners signed a lease this week for a corner space in a building across from the Wheaton Metra station at Front and West streets.
Schmaltz plans to open the express version of the original deli in late February or early March 2020, director of operations Michael Goodman said Friday.
Schmaltz is known for its overstuffed sandwiches, packed with more than half a pound of thinly sliced deli meat and always served with an equally generous slice of sour pickle and complimentary bagel chips.
And then there are the twists to the classics, the challah French toast and the inventive soups of the day (Friday's was Wisconsin beer cheese with grilled salami).
The Wheaton location will start lunch service between 10 and 11 a.m. with a condensed sandwich menu featuring 10 to 15 of the top-sellers in Naperville.
"Our corned beef and pastrami are signature to us," Goodman said. "They're made specifically for us."
On the express side, Schmaltz will cater to morning Metra riders with bagels and cream cheese, fruits, salads and other grab-and-go items.
"The name of the game is speed for this store, so that the commuters are not held up," Goodman said.
Pending approval of city permits, renovations of the vacant space, previously housing Caribou Coffee and later OMG Cafe, likely will begin in mid- to late December. Schmaltz also will use about 200 square feet of empty neighboring space in the building for offices and storage.
Schmaltz already has built a following in Wheaton at the downtown French market. The deli brought a weekend smearing station and cold sandwiches to the open-air market, and the response was one of the main selling points for expanding to Wheaton, Goodman said.
"We had such an immediate great feedback from the community, and they really embraced us," he said.
Planning for the expansion comes as Schmaltz celebrates 15 years in Naperville next month.
Howard Bender opened the deli in a strip mall in 2004. He's also the inventor of Schmacon, a pork alternative made of uncured beef sliced thin, marinated and smoked with spices.
Bender remains involved with the deli, but not the day-to-day operations, as he focuses on the Schmacon business, a separate entity of the Schmaltz brand, Goodman said.
During November, the deli will mark the anniversary with a 15-ounce version of the corned beef and pastrami sandwiches. And the November bagel of the month? A bagel that "tastes just like" Thanksgiving stuffing, Goodman said.