Monty's Deli started as a market stall, and has been trading weekends in a South London railway arch for nearly three years. We have finally found our dream restaurant space. And we're looking to raise £50,000 to pay for our kitchen.
We're taking over a lovely old bakery, a family business with strong traditions and a long history of baking in London. When they decided to retire, we knew we could preserve much of their heritage, and build on a bit of ours too.
What began as a pastrami obsession, a rickety smoker in the back garden, turned into serious business once our loyal customers started returning for more. Then they came back for our luscious fatty salt beef, golden chicken soup, and crispy potato latkes. And then they brought their friends.
We want to create a really special Jewish deli, where we'll be producing everything we possibly can in house. That means more of our famously delicious salt beef and pastrami, but also more smoked meats, and more sandwiches. It means we'll be adding the traditional dishes we've been yearning to make to our menu, with more home made pickles and mustards, more plates to share and of course lots more baked goods.
Our recipes come from a deep appreciation of and enthusiasm for Jewish deli food. As a kid growing up in North London, family weekends were spent at Solly's, or eating Carmelli's bagels and rugelach - trips to Blooms were a treat. As an adult, Mark made pilgrimages to the delis of New York and LA, admiring not only all the incredible food made in house to secret recipes, but the dark and comfortable interior of Nate & Al's and the personality of Katz's. On one trip to LA even managing to talk pastrami tips with Norm at Langer's. All this - the time, the history, the perfectionism, has led to Monty's becoming notorious for its quality and authenticity.
Baking the perfect bagel has become our latest obsession, and the small amount we make on the weekends disappears very quickly, so we are very excited about the possibility of baking hundreds of bagels a day.
In order to make Monty's Deli the benchmark of quality Jewish deli food, we are going to need a new smoker, steam oven, veg prep, walk in refrigerator, extraction unit, and blast chiller to ensure the quality of our food is of consistent excellence, and keeps improving.
After almost five years as a successful market stall, we've built up a strong relationship with our customers, through our deep love and respect for the traditions of the food we serve. We feel we have the knowledge, experience and determination to create a truly exceptional Jewish deli experience. And we hope you will be interested in helping us over this final hurdle!
Rewards
Risks and challenges
Moving from a weekends-only stall to a seven-day-a-week operation will present a number of new challenges. We will be open in the mornings for breakfast and brunch, afternoon for lunch and tea, and in the evenings for dinner service, not to mention a busy takeaway service all day long. We will be employing more full time staff and operating a fully stocked bar.
We will have to work hard to continue to build our reputation. We want to engage with the community surrounding us and try to prove to the regulars of the existing bakery that Monty's can be just as much of a delicious, affordable and welcoming environment for them.
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