The GP wrote:This fundraiser is still active unfortunately. The deli posted that they could use the help.

Thanks for the heads up. Al's Deli has been such a special and unique place for so long, it would be terrible if they closed. I'll try to get over there soon and I hope others do the same.

FYI. I just did a search on Google and it appears that Wednesday is still the one day of the week that they are closed.

Hi- There is an article about Al's Deli in the Evanston Round Table. It goes into their financial problems. Apparently they have not paid their rent for November and December. They have a $75,000 gofundme, but they have only raised about half of what they need.
https://evanstonroundtable.com/2022/12/ ... inesses-2/

It sounds like they can use some more business too, and it would help if they had more tables to eat, and were able to make the line go faster.

I'm rooting for them. I live in Evanston and would like to support them, but they don't seem to have a website, or online ordering or be on any of the delivery services. I don't get that if they don't have dine-in. I still hope to be able to try it before they close though!

Tambreet wrote:they don't seem to have a website, or online ordering or be on any of the delivery services. I don't get that if they don't have dine-in.

They had a website at alsdeli.net but it was built using the now-discontinued Adobe Flash software product, so it's no longer available.

For those who have never been there, it may help to understand their longtime business model. This is a very small longtime old-fashioned sandwich shop owned and run by two brothers, sometimes with an assistant. They make great sandwiches to order, also they have cookies and a soup of the day and a few sides in the deli counter. So overhead is at a minimum, and there is none of the technology that would be needed to interface with delivery services. The personalized approach and lack of modernization is part of its charm.

They do have a few tables available, but the majority of their customers either work at or are students at Northwestern. They are also within walking distance of Evanston's civic center. During the early phases of the pandemic, they did not allow seating inside, and they only allowed five customers inside the deli at one time. While they were dealing with that in 2020, Northwestern's students attended classes remotely, and so they were hurting for customers. City of Evanston employees that worked at the civic center were also mostly working remotely for at least six months.

It is worth it just going there for the cookies. They have a limit on the number of cookies you can purchase.

Tambreet wrote:I'm rooting for them. I live in Evanston and would like to support them, but they don't seem to have a website, or online ordering or be on any of the delivery services. I don't get that if they don't have dine-in. I still hope to be able to try it before they close though!

They are super old school. No website, no online ordering. They do have an instagram account where they list the specials-mostly their soup specials. I think it's part of the charm, but I'm very old school myself.
You can however place an order by phone, which I have done a few times when I don't have the time to wait. Their menu is very basic, and I think you can access versions of it online. https://www.allmenus.com/il/evanston/374731-als-deli/menu/

John Pottinger, co-owner with his brother Bob of Al’s Deli at 914 Noyes St., that was opened by their father in 1949, thanked fans of the lunch spot for donating $17,000 in a recent GoFundMe campaign that has helped keep the long-time business open.

https://evanstonnow.com/talking-biz-old-and-new/