Frenchi’s Deli, located at the corner of Atwood and Dawson here in Oakland, is a small, family-owned convenience store and sandwich shop. Their motto: “If we don’t have it, you probably don’t need it.” The owner, known simply as Frenchi, opened his business only six months ago, but quickly gained a reputation around campus for his uniquely personal, neighborly approach to customer service. I sat down with him to discuss his journey from Paris to Pittsburgh, his relationship with his customers, and his plans for the store.
Her Campus: So I’m going to ask you first, kind of broadly, what brought you here?
Frenchi: You’ll have to sit down. That’s a long story. I used to play basketball and I had this scholarship to a high school in Florida. I had a friend who was already there, and basically he just talked to the coaches and said, “Hey, I have a good friend back home, he’s great,” you know. So they contacted me, asked to see my stats, we sent him some video from tournaments or championships, and they said, “Yeah, we want him on the team.” So they sent me the invitation and a Visa for students. So I moved from Paris to Florida.
HC: It must have been difficult at first learning the language.
F: In school, I had an English teacher. You know how you learn a different language in high school and you just learn the basic what’s your name, where’s the bathroom, how are you doing, how old are you. So I was always like, “Why do we need this? We’re in France. We don’t speak English here.” So my teacher said something I will never forget: “Hey, you don’t know where life is going to take you. You might be working in business and have to speak English, or have some other job where they’re going to require you to speak a foreign language.” And I was like, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever.” And I think about that today, like the first week when I got to the US and I went to the bathroom – I remember like it was yesterday – and I looked at myself in the mirror and I was like, “What am I doing here?” Cause even a stupid question like, “Are you hungry?” I’d say yes, and they’d bring me something and I’d be like, “Oh no, no, no.” Cause I didn’t mean that. I didn’t know what they were saying, you know, it was very confusing and very hard.
HC: How long do you think it took you before you considered yourself fluent?
F: Well, for fluent I would say about a year and a half.
HC: And while you were there, where were you staying?
F: Well, that school was great because it had a lot of international students. I was staying with a family. But I was lucky because their mom took French in college, so she was very excited. I was staying for twelve months, and the goal was that I teach her kids French, and they help me with my English. After that, I moved to Cleveland and started working in a deli. My brother lived in Cleveland. So this guy put me in the deli by myself sometimes, and people would say, “Hey, give me some cucumbers,” and I’d be like “What is that?” So eventually I learned, this is olives, this is cucumbers, this is green peppers. So that’s how I really learned, like, through working, friends, and myself, reading a lot, TV… you know, put the subtitles on. And today I’m still learning. Some words are hard to pronounce because I’m not used to it.
HC: So you were working in a deli in Cleveland – why did you move to Pittsburgh?
F: So I started working with my brother in Cleveland, and they open this other deli in Pittsburgh, and I was supposed to come and train the new people here. And my new boss reached my old boss in Cleveland, and was like, “Once Frenchie leaves, we don’t know how to do this.” And the customers would come in and ask where I was. So my boss was like “Dude, you were supposed to be there for two weeks and now those people want you to make their sandwich.” So he said, “What if you move to Pittsburgh, I give you a better raise, you can be the store manager basically.” So that’s how I moved to Pittsburgh. And I didn’t mind because when I started working for my new boss, we had a very strong relationship, he’s very humble. And he gave me a lot of advice. I don’t think I would be here, have my own store, if I had stayed in Cleveland.
HC: What year was that that you moved here?
F: 2014. So I worked for him for two years. And I like it here. Cleveland, it’s more flat. You don’t see the beauty, the trees, the valleys. I love it here.
HC: So how did you decide to open your own business? It’s a huge thing, it’s a huge venture – what made you want to do it?
F: I’ve been working since high school. Everything, I had to work hard to get. When I came here I started working cause I didn’t have a choice, you know, when you don’t have your parents around, you have to work hard. So here in Pittsburgh, I was a store manager, so I knew how to connect with the staff and who to call to get everything, so I thought, if I can do this for someone, why can’t I just do this for myself? So I got the idea in my head that before I turned thirty, I wanted to have my own store.
HC: So why did you choose Oakland? Or how did you end up here?
F: Well I originally had a partner – my old boss. But when he came to look at it, he said, “Oh, I don’t want it, it’s too small, and there’s nowhere to park…” And I told him, like, “Don’t forget, you’re in Oakland. It’s all students here. They don’t drive. There’s a lot of walking, a lot of walk traffic.” But he didn’t really believe it. Then my brother came to look at it and he said, “You know what, this is perfect. Let’s give it a shot.” And I really appreciate you guys, the students, cause you know, honestly like 90 percent of my customers are students. So for example, winter break, it was dead. We had a couple older people here and there, but it was terrible. So I’m thinking, whenever you guys take a break, I’ll take a break as well, because it was very boring.
HC: Do you like that your customers are mostly students? Cause it’s kind of an unusual thing for a business owner to have customers that are almost exclusively students.
F: I like it. It’s fun, because, for example, the old owner was in here for a couple hours, and people would walk in, and I’d be like “Hey, Jordan! Hey, Kevin!” And he was like, “Oh my god, you know all of them?” And I was like “Yeah.” And, you know, like Jordan, he used to play basketball, so we’ll talk about basketball. So we’ll talk about sports all day, or sometimes I’ll ask people about school, what’s your major… Cause you know I didn’t finish college all the way through. And a lot of them are taking French classes, so one of the students, I was helping him with his homework. Like once a week, I was turning into a French teacher. Which I really enjoyed. I really enjoy being here.
And the other thing is, I used to work in Wilkinsburg, and it’s kind of a bad area. So people would walk in, “Hey! Give me a pack of cigars.” No smile, no “Hey, how are you doing?” People were just rude. And here, the beauty of Oakland is I know all of my customers. And sometimes they just open the door, say what’s up, and keep going. And I love that, because I’m not just here to sell you stuff, or to make money off of you, but the relationship I have with my customers… Someone will just open the door and say good morning. That’s lovely.
And just another example, when the attacks happened in Paris, the next day people came in like, “Hey, Frenchie, is your family okay?” I was like, “Wow, I have like, I have a family here.” You know because they were so worried about my family back home, and I did not expect that at all. People were coming even a week after asking if they were okay, or “Did your family live near to where that thing happened?” I was very touched by that. In Wilkinsburg, I don’t think anyone would’ve asked me if my family was okay. It’s very different. You know, here, people are very lovely, less stressful. It’s more safe over here, and the relationships I have with the customers, it’s, it’s wonderful.
HC: That’s so nice to hear, cause I guess from my perspective, I always think business owners expect college students to be rude, or…
F: No, no, not at all. Quite the opposite. And they’re honest. You know, sometimes someone will come in, and their credit card doesn’t work, and I say “Pay me back next time you’re here.” And sometimes I write it down, sometimes I don’t. But they’ll remind me, they’ll say “Frenchie, I’ve come to pay my tab,” and I’ll say, “For what?” So that’s great – they’re very honest.
HC: What are your plans for the deli? Cause you always have plans. Every time I come in, you’ve got a new plan. So what’s in the works right now?
F: Well, the menu. We have to build the menu. And put the name of the sandwiches – you know, that’ll be fun. So [my wife’s] uncle is a vegetarian, Uncle Ty, so we’re gonna call one of them the UT Veggie. So people will be asking, “What does the UT stand for?” And I might mix the menu with some French names, like one that’s #6, that’ll be a huge sandwich, so I’ll probably call that one the Eiffel Tower. And we’re gonna have French crepes, and some old school, like some classical French music. It’s like when you go to an Italian restaurant, and you listen to Italian music.
That’s another thing – we’re gonna put up a new sign, some new LED lights. Cause I think, especially on this street, there’s not enough light. So once we extend our hours, I want it to be more safe. I want it to be the spot after the bar. When they don’t drink, I want them to love Frenchi’s sandwiches, and when they drink, I want them to love them even more.
Something I learned from my old job, and something I want to do here, is I’m not concerned about quantity – I want to make quality sandwiches. You know, I know people eat with their eyes anyway. So if I make a veggie sub, I want that veggie to look, like, sexy. Not sloppy. I want you to say, I want to go to Frenchi’s cause they make some bomb sandwiches.
You can find Frenchi’s on Facebook as “Frenchis Deli,” and of course, here in Oakland, at 449 Atwood St. Stop in for a coffee, a fresh handmade sandwich, or just to chat!
Photo Credit: Provided by subject