Take a walk down Atwood Street on any given weekend night, and in the distance, you will see the bright lights reflecting on the street from Frenchi’s Deli. This is the place many Pitt students find themselves after a night of partying in South O to devour sandwiches made by Frenchi, the owner of the deli. Today, I am here on a weekday evening, so the usual cluttered line of students does not exist, which leaves the store quieter than usual. However, I am just as excited to be here on a weeknight as I am at 2 a.m. on weekends. Frenchi has just handed me an avocado loaded sandwich that he crafted—he knows the way to my heart.
Frenchi approaches everyone like a long-time friend, so as I sit down to talk to him, we laugh over how exhausting our weeks have been. Frenchi’s Deli is now busier than ever. He attracts tons of customers to his store and is delighted by the dedicated customers who travel from areas like the South Hills, North Versailles and the North Side to devour his food. His business has grown so much that his weekly food order for the deli increased from more than double of what his weekly order was last year. With this much growth, an expansion seems imminent. Though Frenchi agrees he needs more space, he promises to keep “the Motherland”—the Atwood location—open forever. “The goal is to open up a couple Frenchi’s. Maybe one closer to campus. A spot on Forbes would be ideal.” Right now, the Atwood location sits in South Oakland. More students could visit a Frenchi’s location between classes if it were closer to campus.
But what about the rest of the community? Besides Pitt students, Frenchi has an entire group of people that he serves not just food to, but also friendliness, open ears and hope. Right before winter, he collects shoes with the help of donations from Pitt students, then drives around passing them out to the homeless. He brings clothing donations to shelters throughout Pittsburgh and also works to battle hunger by preparing soup for the hungry. The homeless are welcomed into his store to help themselves to a bowl of soup, however there are many others facing hunger who are not within the vicinity of the deli. Because of this, Frenchi makes thermoses full of noodles and delivers them to those in need. “The noodles are in the cup because they are homeless. But if a gas station allows them to use the hot water from the coffee machine, they can add water to the thermos and have something to eat without worrying about cooking it.” Frenchi’s inspiration to serve others is motivated by a powerful image he saw on the internet. “I saw this little girl giving food to a homeless man. And I thought, if this child can have the notion that this man is homeless and doesn’t have food, and here we are eating meals three times a day, to see her have that mercy to ask her dad to bring food to that homeless man is inspiring.” He hopes to make an impact on others.
When asked which customers have made the biggest impact on him, Frenchi told me he will not let people write that they are Frenchi’s best customers in the captions of his Instagram pictures because he values everyone. His Instagram captions share his message of thankfulness for his customers. When I pointed out that I got posted as a VIP on his Instagram, he shared that a VIP/Hall of Famers wall is in the works. “It will be something to see for students who return back to Pittsburgh after graduation. They can say ‘Hey, my picture is still there.’” It is quite a way to leave a legacy.
Frenchi uses Instagram (@frenchisdeli) to post pictures of students who visit his deli on the weekends, and to show off the food he creates. His social media exemplifies his gratitude for his customers. When I asked why he posts so much on Instagram, Frenchi noted that, “First of all it’s free, and everyone has a social media. Once I realized everyone has one, it was easy to use that as a website. I have had people offer to make me a website, but no one is going to visit a website for Frenchi’s, they go to my Instagram.” Frenchi currently has over 2,000 Instagram followers and more 2,000 posts of pictures featuring his customers.
Frenchi also DMs many of his customers on Instagram. If you find yourself as a new customer at Frenchi’s, you can expect a message from him thanking you for stopping in. Instagram messages are an essential component of his customer service. “I like to check in on people and see how their experience was if they were new customers. Sometimes people think I am too friendly, but I truly care about others and always ask how they have been if I haven’t seen them in a few weeks.” Quality assurance is crucial to Frenchi, so it is no wonder that he holds such confidence in the food he makes. “If you don’t like your sandwich, be honest with me and I will refund your money back.”
The one word Frenchi believes best represents his business? “Friendly.” The deli welcomes everyone, and Frenchi brings his own family in several times a year. Although his relatives still live in France, his brother and sister actually work at the deli when they visit. “My little brother is really good at making the crepes that we sell here. He is better than me.” Between the sandwiches, crepes, and every other item in the store, Frenchi’s offers plenty of items for sale. You would think that he had just about everything, but back in April, Frenchi began bottling up and selling the chipotle sauce that puts on his sandwiches. I admit I was one of the first people to start buying these chipotle sauce bottles, but many others now keep their refrigerators stocked with it too. Shockingly, Frenchi did not believe there was a big enough interest for his chipotle sauce, but enough begging from his customers forced him to succumb to their requests. Within the first few hours of the first day he began selling, 12 bottles sold, and by the end of the first day, all 25 bottles were purchased. Now that this is a staple item at the store, Frenchi must make the chipotle sauce twice a week to keep a sufficient supply for the 8-10 gallons that he uses weekly.
Vegans and vegetarians can experience Frenchi’s food as well. Any of his sandwich breads can be substituted for lettuce leaves and salads are another option offered on the menu. To keep up with Pittsburgh tradition, Frenchi admitted that he will add fries to the salad if any Pittsburghers prefer it, even though he personally does not like it. “You can get either a healthy meal or a more fast-food type meal here.” At Frenchi’s, you really can have it all.
Frenchi pulls the entire community into his store, along with some big names. The Pittsburgh City and Pitt Campus Police both frequent Frenchi’s Deli—whether Frenchi’s Deli is City or Campus Police territory is to be determined. Apparently, some friendly competition exists between the two groups. Frenchi casually mentioned that James Connor comes by very often, sometimes accompanied by other Steelers players. And yes, Frenchi does recommend his “Steelers” sandwich to them, which comes loaded with over one pound of meat.
Frenchi’s success does not come from high prices and pushy sales techniques: it is his dedication and friendly approach toward customers that drive the deli’s success. Frenchi works long hours to keep the store open for as long as possible on the weekends. “‘It’s basically open 24 hours Thursday through Saturday, and it is like I am a vampire on the weekend, but hey, I like it.” He also adds convenience by offering Venmo as a payment method at his store. Students stroll out of the door while typing captions to go along with the payments they made for their sandwiches and Frenchi trusts that each customer will hold true to their word when they say they are paying him. It is refreshing to witness this type of relationship between a business and its customers. I highly encourage you to stop at Frenchi’s during not just the weekends, but the weekdays as well. On Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays all sandwiches are buy two get one free from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Freshmen and sophomore students receive a free can of pop with their sandwich purchases, and freshmen also get 50% off their sandwich purchase on Mondays. Bon Appétit!
Photo Credit: Author’s own