Thayer Bros. Deli, A Joliet Treasure: Ferak Food Column

JOLIET, IL — On Monday afternoon, for the first time in two years, I met up for lunch with former Joliet Catholic High School Carmelite priest, Father John Jay Comerford, who now lives in Darien. His idea for lunch was Thayer Bros. Deli, located at 753 Ruby Street, near the Six Corners intersection.

A fantastic idea, I thought.

After all, Thayer's was on my short list of places I needed to visit for my weekly food column. I had heard great things about Thayer's from a number of people around Joliet, including WJOL Morning Show Host Scott Slocum.

Sure enough, Thayer's Deli exceeded all of my expectations.

On Monday, I went with the turkey plate that came with all the fixings, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberries.

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And of course, the best part of my meal was a good-sized bowl of hot chicken noodle soup. You see, soup isn't an option at Thayer's.

Soup comes with practically every meal on the menu.

If Merichka's is famous for its poorboys and Chicken-N-Spice is best known for its chicken chunks, Thayer Bros. Deli is most popular for its outstanding soups.

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On Wednesday, I made a second trip back to Thayer's - not for more food, but for a sit down interview with the Thayers. I realized I needed to include more information about the family and why they've been so successful with Thayer Bros. Deli.

"We're survivors," Rick Thayer told me. "We've been around in the restaurant business for a long, long time. We're basically a scratch kitchen and everything is great, quality food. We're just a family owned neighborhood restaurant."

What makes Thayer's Deli stand out is the people who run it: The Thayer family.

Brothers Rick and Tom were star athletes at Joliet Catholic. Rick graduated in 1977 and Tom was in the class of 1979.

A Super Bowl champion on the Bears 1985 team, Tom Thayer is now on the broadcast team for the Chicago Bears. Rick said that practically all of his immediate family members still live within a one-mile radius of the Cathedral Area neighborhood. He and Tom also have three sisters.

As for his mother, Anne, she is busy working at the restaurant everyday.

On Monday, she spent a good chunk of the afternoon greeting diners and visiting with them at their tables, often for several minutes at a time.

As I sat down at a table Wednesday to interview Rick, his mother strolled by.

She asked me the question that gets asked hundreds of times every week, "Can I get you a bowl of soup?"

Since Mrs. Thayer put me on the spot, I simply could not turn her down. On Monday during my two-hour lunch with Father Comerford, Mrs. Thayer stopped by our table for several minutes. She gave me a warm hug at the time and told me that "I come from a good family."

Since I had the chicken noodle on Monday, Wednesday's other selection, minestrone, sounded fantastic, and it was.

Here's the key highlights of my interview with Rick Thayer on what makes Thayer Bros. Deli special in Joliet:

On being a famous Joliet family:

"Of course, having my brother, people recognize the name. We're fortunate that my brother is on the radio. So we get a lot of people to come who are from outside the area and outside the state."

On operating at its current location for 19 years.

Rick Thayer has been in Joliet's restaurant industry for more than 30 years. Back in the day, he was involved in the popular TnT's restaurant on West Jefferson Street, starting around 1987.

"We serve good food and we're very reasonably priced. We also do custom catering and we serve good size portions. Having a restaurant, it's a tough business. It's a lot of hours, so you have to enjoy what you do. I look forward to coming to work everyday. We have a great staff that work here."

What is your restaurant best known for?

"My mom's homemade soups. She's usually the first one here every morning. The soups and the daily specials. Our poorboys are good. The reuben's our No. 1. It's all made from scratch, like our beef stew."

Rick Thayer told me it's quite common for customers to walk inside during a given day and exclaim,"I need soup. Somebody's sick."

He is also proud of their country fried steak, the country fried chicken and the fish tacos.

"We do a lot of comfort food, and I do help cook here."

What about brother Tom, Joliet's famous former Chicago Bears player and current Chicago Bears radio announcer?

"He comes in and critiques us. He comes up with recipes that we do from time to time. He comes in two-to-three days a week."

What are your hours of operation?

Thayer Bros. Deli is open six days a week, Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

"Majority is sit-down, but a nice little piece of business is carryout."

The phone number for carryout is 815-726-8990.

My last word

Thayer Bros. Deli is so old-school that the restaurant does not accept credit cards, even in 2019. You can pay with cash or with check.

A handful of the staff have been with Rick Thayer and his mother for 30 years, dating back to their days of operating the TnT's restaurant.

All in all, I love this little neighborhood deli in Joliet's Cathedral Area. Thayer's rolls out a new selection of daily specials every morning shortly before 11 a.m. on the restaurant's Facebook page.

If you are looking for an old-school neighborhood deli, Thayer Bros. scores a touchdown - and a two-point conversion.