Merritt Deli Of Farmingdale Reopens: 'It Feels Fantastic,' Owner Says

FARMINGDALE, NY — Merritt Deli is back to serving sandwiches.

The deli, at 307 Northwest Drive, Farmingdale, was damaged in a fire on Aug. 21. After half a year away, the community staple is back and better than ever, with all its old employees back for the ride.

"It feels fantastic," owner Craig Proce, 52, told Patch. "Absolutely fantastic. In this type of business, there’s never any downtime. So to have to wait six months to get your business, your livelihood, your family’s flow back, so to speak, was very frustrating."

Merritt Deli opened in 1956 as the first business to launch in its shopping center. It was founded by Peter Geestman, who sold it to his son-in-law, John Gross. Gross sold the deli to his son-in-law, Proce, in 2000.

"The fact we were able to come back after 66 years of being here is rewarding," Proce said. "The people here in the community are our family. You see multiple generations every day: grandparents, parents, kids. You wait on them their whole lives. You go to funerals for them, you go to birthday parties, you cater the birthday parties, and everything in-between. So to be able to come back to work is fantastic."

The deli was just getting back to normal after the coronavirus pandemic when the building went ablaze, Proce said.

In the months the deli was forced to close, Proce said he frustratingly had to work with insurance companies, gut the store, and do a lot of the demolition himself.

Equipment and cases were removed and replaced, the walls stripped, the building re-wired, the floors redone, the ceiling insulated and paneled, and the counter reworked.

"We tried to bring the store up to modern day," Proce said. "We’re not a high tech store. We’re still a mom-and-pop operation."

Proce has been working in the store since 1993 before purchasing it seven years later. His father-in-law, Gross, has been working at the deli for more than 50 years.

"We’re truly a family business," he said.

The deli tries to extend that feeling to all customers. A sign on the back wall reads "Merritt Delicatessen: Our family serving yours since 1956."

Customers supported the deli in the aftermath of the blaze: $3,300 was raised on a GoFundMe to help the business get up and running again.

Proce said he spends more time at the deli than he does his own home. He only hires people from Farmingdale or neighboring towns. He looks forward to seeing all his old regulars return.

"It’s been a pleasure serving everyone ... It’s never dull," he said. "Food service in and of itself is never dull. I work with a very colorful but friendly group. Everybody is welcome. We’ll give you a hard time. We’ll laugh at you, cry with you, and everything in between. We take an interest in what goes on in our community and our families, and I think that’s what is part of the success here: being able to say that I’ve been in business with the same family in the same spot for 66 years, to me, is a huge accomplishment, and I’m just hoping that I get it right."