Where did the idea for Your Hometown Deli come from?
Melissa Cadieux, co-owner, said the idea came to her after she found out she’d be losing her job.
“I was working at Sobeys on cash and worked in the office, did all the money, the till, the computer,” she said. “And then they were closing, so I started asking my customers, what will you miss? It was the deli, the fresh lunch meat, it was also the bakery, it was the fruits and vegetables. Not so much the grocery part, but everything else.”
In spring of 2012, the doors to the Wallaceburg Sobeys were closed for good.
Melissa then went to her brother Kevin Blake.
“I went to Kevin because he went to college for business,” she said. “He said I’m unemployed, your unemployed, let’s do this together.”
And from there… Your Hometown Deli was born.
“So we pooled our money and we worked for a good year on planning, investigating,” she said. “We traveled everywhere looking at all these different delis, every single one was different… so we just made our own.”
Blake said the Community Futures Development Corporation Of Chatham-Kent was a huge help for them as well.
“Getting an independent body to review your numbers is a really good idea,” he said. “Tanya Houston at Community Futures played a really big role in helping us understand the business end of it.”
Check out Your Hometown Deli online and give them a ‘Like’ on Facebook.
This article is sponsored content and is a part of our Keep It Local Business Spotlight feature. Contact Aaron Hall for more information – 519-365-1079 or aaron@glassrootsmedia.ca.
