Deli Closes Due to Lack of Decent Help

In Woonsocket, a city that has been grappling with an unemployment problem for years, you’d think that a local company with pay that starts above the minimum wage would have no problem finding eager workers.

But talk to J’s Deli owner James Hallal and he’ll tell you a different story.

One of his three delis, located at 760 Cumberland Hill Road, is now closed with a sign on the door that flatly states a lack of good employees has compelled him to shutter the business, for now.

“Due to our repeated unsuccessful efforts to hire a full team of quality associates to join us at this location of J’s Deli, we have made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend operations at this location only,” the sign states.

In an interview, Hallal said, “We have tried very aggressively to hire people and have just been running into a problem.”

The problem, he said, is multi-faceted. Some employees didn’t take the job seriously. Others didn’t have cars and couldn’t be counted on to be reliable. With two other successful locations in Smithfield and Cumberland, Hallal said he and his core crew could had been covering the slack but he knew he was starting to be spread too thin.

“We set very high expectations when a customer walks into a J’s Deli and we have high expectations that our employees take the job seriously,” Hallal said. “The expectations [in Woonsocket] were continuing to be met but I was stretching my staff too thin to meet them.”

Hallal said he fully intends to be open by September and is actively recruiting more employees for the Woonsocket store.

“It had nothing to do with lack of business,” he said.

The inability to secure a decent crew of workers has been a head-scratcher for Hallal. J’s Deli isn’t a bad place to work, he said. The business has been named best deli/sandwich shop in Blackstone Valley by the readers of Rhode Island Monthly Magazine in their annual contest for several years in a row, including the just announced 2015 awards.

“It’s a wonderful place to work,” Hallal said. “It’s not what you’re thinking: $8 or $9 an hour place. We’re well above that. Well above.

“This is a business that has built up over a lot of years of good will, great service, friendly employees and that’s how I’m keeping it,” he said. “If one has to be closed to keep it that way, it’s what I’m going to do.”

Hallal has been in the deli business for almost 29 years. The deli is legendary for its “The Pilgrim” sandwich, which bundles together the best of Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, some mayo and melted cheese.

Meanwhile Hallal is continuing to pay the rent on his Woonsocket business, along with the utilities. His decision is not about the money, he said. It’s just that he knew, for now, he couldn’t deliver in Woonsocket.

“It’s about doing the job right,” he said. “I’m absolutely trying to open back up. If you want to work for me, call me,” he said.

You can reach him at the Smithfield location at 285 George Washington Highway at 401-231-0823.

Photo Courtesy: Tom Keith via the You Know You’re From Woonsocket Facebook Page.