Wilkes Deli Back in Family Fold

For the Wilkes, business is all in the family — again.

The  on Rock Road began as part of their family of food stores in the 1960s and, after a brief stewardship with another owner, it's now back in familiar hands.

The Wilkes' delis, famous for their potato salad (they sell more than 6,000 pounds per year), are a quickly evolving business helmed by a dedicated husband and wife team, who provide deft leadership and enough small town savvy to help the business stand out in an economy seemingly dominated by big names.

Franklin Lakes residents Jen and Curt Wilkes keep the business running smoothly — Curt is the cook and creative mind, while Jen says she handles mostly insurance, payroll, and "the non-sexy stuff."

"He's the one who makes the store run. It wouldn't happen without him," Jen said. "And it certainly wouldn't happen as well without him."

In just a few minutes of conversation with Curt, he weaves between the aspects of what makes the business stand out — darting from secret family recipes, to diversifying the deli case, to market research.

The ease with which he transitions from one topic to another is telling of why the Wilkes stay competitive.

"I go to other places, see what they're doing, what's going on," Curt said, before talking up the store's buffalo chicken cutlets, a big seller. They move approximately 40 cutlets per store, per day.

And those cutlets, like everything in the deli case, Curt stressed, are not pre-packaged, but homemade.

"That's the biggest reason we are who we are, otherwise we'd be a 7-Eleven."

The Wilkes — who have four kids of their own — say that Glen Rock families looking for an alternative to school lunches are also a bit part of what makes the business successful.

"If [parents] don't want to send their kids to school with lunch money they'll send them down here ... to get their lunch," Jen said.

Plus, Curt said, "The portions at school are a lot smaller."

The families of both Jen and Curt have been in Bergen County — variously in Dumont, Fair Lawn, Allendale, Glen Rock, Washington Township, and Ridgewood — for three generations, according to Jen, who grew up just a stone's throw away in Ridgewood.

The Glen Rock store, a sort of little-sister-in-training to , was opened in 1967 by Curt's uncle.

"[My uncle] was a Glen Rock resident and sold it off to my brother-in-law and sister almost 20 years ago.

The business stayed in family hands for about 15 years, then a friend of the family bought it and it floundered.

"You've got to be married to a business like Wilkes for it to be successful," according to Jen.

Curt, who grew up in Washington Township, and Jen purchased the deli last July, bringing it back to the family. 

Aside from minor aesthetic improvements, Curt's main task these days has been to bring the Glen Rock shop in lock-step with the Ridgewood store — customers can expect the menu items, prices and service to be identical, Curt said.

 at 221 Rock Rd. will be having its grand opening this coming week.