Owner Dan Weinberger has been serving sandwiches at the corner of Main Street and West College Street since 2002. If his proposal is approved by Grapevine City Council and Planning & Zoning Commission later this summer, he plans to expand his eatery into the space next door. The location is currently occupied by Little Orange Fish, a children's clothing boutique.
Amy Fisher, owner of Little Orange Fish, confirmed her store will be moving but a new location has not been finalized.
Weinberger called the expansion work “patching and painting” during an exclusive interview with Community Impact .
What’s happening?
Weinberger’s Deli opens each day at 10 a.m. and by noon, vehicles driving north on Main Street can often see a line standing outside the doors to get inside.
The expansion plans to adding seating in the space that is currently the clothing store.
“Obviously, we don’t have enough seats in our shop to accommodate everybody who comes in,” Weinberger said. “We always get five stars on our food, five stars on our service and one star on seating. So, we’re going to open that up over there.”
A closer look
The additional seating is just one of a few changes that will be seen if his plans are approved.
Weinberger broke down some of the notable differences the expanded space will have include kiosks for ordering if customers want to skip the line, a relocated deli case for customers who order freshly cut meats and the fountain drinks will move over to the new space.
He said there will be a hole cut through the front of the store that will allow passage from the existing space to the new dining area since the stores don’t line up.
What’s next
The changes will also affect the menu, which already features more than 120 sandwiches, according to its website.
Weinberger said the business will be opening up earlier and start serving breakfast and he will also be adding wraps to the menu.
“I’ve got some crazy breakfast sandwiches,” he said.
He uses his house as a lab of sorts, mixing up different ingredients and meats for sandwiches. The only thing left is to come up with names for them.
Weinberger’s Deli's north wall is covered with caricature of people who have sandwiches named after them, such as the Mark Cuban, after the former Dallas Mavericks owner; the Schleta’s Grinder after current Grapevine Mayor Pro Tem Paul Schleta; and the il Papa Leo, named after current Pope Leo XIV who went to school with Weinberger and his brother in Chicago when the Pope was Robert Prevost.
Another sandwich is Garin’s 4G, named after Grapevine Economic Development Director Garin Giacomarro, a regular at the store who has held a March Madness-style bracket challenge for the best sandwich at Weinberger’s.
The background
Weinberger’s Deli originally started with Dan’s father, Tom. In 1952, he opened the first Weinberger’s Deli in the Chicago area and eventually expanded to have five stores across Illinois and Indiana, according to the deli website.
