The backstory
Otherside Deli opened as a food truck in November 2017 behind Back Lot bar, after Smith and his business partner moved to Austin from Philadelphia and South Jersey, respectively.
Smith spent five years working at Herschel’s East Side Deli, a New York-style Jewish deli in Philadelphia, and said he wanted to bring a taste of the shop's food to Austin.
“I already knew how to do all the corned beef, pastrami—all that fun stuff,” Smith said. “We both wanted a good sandwich shop in Austin, and we were from the area where there's a sandwich shop on every corner.”
In November 2018, Otherside Deli moved out of a food truck and into its current spot on West 34th Street in what was previously Delaware Sub Shop.
On the menu
Otherside Deli offers classic subs served on toasted marble rye or sourdough upon request. The pastrami Reuben is the shop’s bestseller. Smith said they brine, cook and hand carve the brisket, and the bread is fresh from New World Bakery in Kyle. The deli also makes its own corned beef.
Customers will both cold subs and hot subs, such as the cheesesteak, another bestseller.
Smith said they keep the recipes and ingredients simple.
“We're not trying to reinvent the wheel,” he said. “We still make everything that we can from scratch. Deli meats and cheeses are hard to [make] for a building like this, so we get the best quality we can get, but we're not trying to [add] gold leaves, or something trendy or Instagrammable. We just wanted something that's good and quick.”
What else?
Smith said word of mouth has been his best advertiser, and that some people who dine at Otherside Deli can tell it has the touch of someone who has lived in the northeast.
“I'm not going to try to compete,” Smith said. “I want to do my own thing, and that's how I want to keep it."
- 1104 W. 34th St., Ste. D, Austin
- www.othersidedeliatx.com
