Bleecker Street Deli Sandwich shop opens at 802 S. 10th St

This was once Polsky’s Service station, a Sinclair gas station and finally Bob Wilson’s hot dog business which closed in 2011.

Andrew Clark recently opened Bleecker Street Deli Co. at 802 S. 10th St. The New York-trained chef will have a variety of food to go, along with delivery.

For Andrew Clark, choosing a roughly 350-square-foot building for his business was common sense.

“Cost effectiveness, you’re looking at it,” he said. “It’s a closet. Yes, it is.”

Mr. Clark opened Bleecker Street Deli Co. at 802 S. 10th St. on Wednesday. The new deli offers roasted turkey melts, albacore tuna salad and roast beef, with sides of homemade potato salad, macaroni and cheese, chips and even dill pickles.

The chef-owner said he will rotate his menu often, including street tacos and a variety of sides. Soups will be seasonal, and the sandwiches come cold on panini.

He slices the potatoes with a mandolin, deep-fries them and adds sea salt. The house-made pickles are brimmed and the hot dogs are ground by hand. The only thing Bleecker Street doesn’t do is the bread. Everything else is made from scratch.

Customers can stop by and wait while Mr. Clark constructs the sandwich, or can call ahead to pick up the order or have it delivered. They prefer to have a five-order minimum for delivery, but don’t have strict limitations on their coverage area.

“If we’re going to go up to the North Shoppes, which I hope we do, we might tack on a $2 or $3 fee,” Mr. Clark said.

He said he has left the business operations ambiguous on purpose.

“In the professional culinary world, you don’t cook for yourself,” he said. “If (the food) doesn’t move, it’s got to go. If it’s dear to my heart and not my pocket, I’m an idiot.”

Other than the tables, chairs and umbrellas during the summer months, Mr. Clark plans to drive his business through carry out and delivery. His assistant, Brittany Wilson, will not only man the phones and take orders, but bring customers their food.

Mr. Clark has worked everywhere from New York to Kansas City. “But if you’re going to work 70 hours a week, you might as well work for yourself,” he said.

Bleecker Street is not far from his former home in lower Manhattan, by the NYU campus. When he wasn’t working or going to culinary arts school, he would hang out there.

“I used to love that street,” he said. “It was the name. It just rolled off the tongue.”

Anyone who has spent some time in Manhattan and knows a little bit of New York culture, knows Bleecker Street.

“We’re not doing any kind of fine dining here,” he said. “We’re doing traditional deli fare. But I wanted to bring something from New York here. I slipped it in a little bit here with the name.”