Voices of Lawrenceville: Bossio’s Deli

The ring of the bell as the doors swing open is a familiar sound in , as is constant chat between Al Bossio and his many local customers coming for a sandwich, a cup of soup, or just a friendly “How are you?”

Bossio shared his story:

“I always sort of had this thing in the back of my mind that I wanted to go into business. Whether it be food or something else. 

“About 27 years ago my dad and my uncle decided to buy this location which was already a deli. They decided to buy it and decided to go into business. They took me in as a manager and I ran it for them while they still had their day job. I was about 17 or 18 at the time. It was overwhelming for a while because we were brand new and we didn’t really have that much experience in the business. We had to really do it cold. We just had to go in there and do the best we can.

“I learned to cook from being at home. My family is Italian, and we love to eat and we love to cook. My mom would always cook. We really generally didn’t go out to eat or do take-out. Mom would show the kids how to do this and that with the cooking, so that’s how I learned to cook. At the shop, we learned things as we went along. 

“Believe it or not, I can’t really think of anything that we sell that isn’t good or that’s ever gotten a bad reaction. I think some items are slower than others, but everything sells. Our menu has been pretty consistent over the 27 years we’ve been here. We have added paninis, wraps and different salads – as opposed to when we first started when it was just sandwiches and subs. But as things change, and people want different things, we have to accommodate those changes. 

“One of the challenges starting out so young was not having a lot of time to myself or even with friends or family. There were so many hours that we had to be here – it was a long day. At that time we didn’t have a lot of help. We did everything pretty much by ourselves. That means we had to be here day and night. That was a major challenge but we got through it.  We learned as we went along. The previous owners did help us out temporarily for a while, but then we just kind of did our own thing.

“I take care of hiring, payroll, ordering, but then I also do what a common employee would do which is wait on people, make sandwiches and cook. We’re here about 5 in the morning. That’s when we get all the morning stuff ready. That means making coffee, and preparing all the baked goods that come in. We also serve bagels and breakfast sandwiches. Once we get that all set up we open the doors about 5:30 a.m. Then we have the morning rush.

“After that, around 9 or 10 a.m. we start preparing for the lunch rush - which means we cut meat ahead of time, and prepare salads.  Then it’s preparing for the evening rush. Before the next crew comes in we make sure everything is ready to go for 4 p.m.  If we don’t have catering I usually leave around 4p.m. If we have catering I stay longer. So I have the evening hours with my family but sometimes I’m so tired it’s difficult to find the energy to go out and do things. I also work most weekends. Every other Sunday I have off, so with the time off I do have I try to spend as much time as I can with my family. 

“If you like to socialize, spend time vacationing or whatever this is not the type of business you want to go into. Otherwise, it’s good. I’ve gotten used to the tradeoff. It’s not as bad as it used to be. You’re talking 27 years, so obviously we’re still here. You have to give and take a little. But then after a while we give ourselves a break here and there.  I would like to fish, take more walks, spend more time outside, do more gardening. The work limits these activities. Especially this time of the year, which is our busy season.

“Our busy season is about now all the way up until August when vacation seasons start. Then it will pick up again in September when the families and kids come back, and school is ready to start again.  This area right along Route 206 – you can’t really beat the location. Because you’re kind of sandwiched between other places who are looking to do the same thing you are – sell food. We get a wide range of cliental: kids and adults from all demographics; lower income, higher income, blue collar, white collar; we’re between Trenton and Princeton so we get a wide range.

“The best part of my job would probably be meeting people and working with people. We like to hear compliments that the ‘food is good, the best in the area.’ That’s what makes you feel good.”