Business of the Week: Wayland Variety & Deli

Welcome to our new Business of the Week feature. Every week we'll highlight a business in town.

All the businesses we highlight are listed in our Wayland Patch Places (i.e., directory listings).

This week, we shine the spotlight on .

This easy-to-miss convenience store and deli is tucked into a non-descript building on Boston Post Road near Wayland's border with Weston. Wayland resident Paul Patel bought this small, family-owned store a little more than three years ago, but he purchased a business with more than a decade of history. And he didn't see a reason to fix what wasn't broken.

Patel said he obtained a beer and wine license for the store and made a few small changes, but found that the quality already in place was exactly what he wanted to maintain.

Wayland Variety & Deli is perhaps best known for the deli portion of the operation. Boar's Head meats form the protein base for all these sandwiches that have such a devoted customer following that some customers have even earned the right to have their name become that of their favorite sandwich.

Head in for lunch and you'll be able to choose from the Donna (cracked peppermill turkey, honey maple ham, lettuce, tomato, Swiss onions and honey mustard) or The Alex (hot corned beef, melted Swiss, Russian dressing, tomato, pickle and onion), among many others.

The most popular sandwich on the menu? The Siberian Train Wreck. This sandwich features roast beef, corned beef and pastrami, but it's the special house mustard that makes this one special. The secret recipe mustard has changed slightly over the business' 15-year history, but it has remained a key ingredient for several sandwiches at the shop.

Patel admitted that running the deli and convenience store requires long hours and hard work.

"It's a lot of work," said Patel. "But when you get compliments, it's worth it."