Quick-service food is booming — and the deli counter is back in demand. If you’ve ever thought about opening one, now’s the time. Over the past few years, deli product launches have climbed by 2%, making it the fourth largest segment in the fresh prepared foods market.
Customers crave convenience, bold flavor, and that comforting blend of quality and familiarity — especially when it’s ready to grab and enjoy.
Successful delis start with a focused plan. That means knowing your customer, curating the correct product mix, and implementing the right systems to keep things running smoothly.
Here’s how to open a deli that serves your community, earns substantial profits, and enjoys long-term growth.
Research Your Market and Location
Market research is the first step in opening a deli that’s set up for success. It means learning what people in your area want and which types of food businesses already exist nearby. This helps you plan your menu, pricing, and store layout.
Start with these strategies:
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Check out nearby businesses: Search for “delis near me” on Google Maps and Yelp to see what stores are already operating. Visit their websites or locations to study menus, pricing, hours, and the types of customers they serve.
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Run a local survey: Use SurveyMonkey or Google Forms to ask people in your area what they’d want from a neighborhood deli. Would they come in for sandwiches, ready-made meals, or specialty items like sliced meats and imported staples?
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Study foot traffic: Check patterns using Placer.ai or your local chamber of commerce data. Track daily foot traffic at your potential location and identify nearby hotspots that attract a consistent crowd.
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Review neighborhood demographics: Search Data USA or Census information for details on age, income, and lifestyle patterns. Look for areas with office workers, families, or commuters who are likely to stop in during lunch or on the way home.
The insights you gather will help shape where you open, what you offer, and how you price for profit.
Plan Your Product Selection
What you sell affects all parts of your business, including profit margins, storage space, and kitchen layout. Rather than overloading your menu, concentrate on the items your customers will purchase whenever they stop by.
Select menu items that match what your target market wants:
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Pick a main focus: Choose one or two core categories based on your research, like sandwiches, sliced meats, or pre-packed meals. Your offerings should reflect what people are most likely to buy regularly in your area.
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Draft a sample menu: Create a working menu with 8 to 12 items that fit your concept and service flow. Use a spreadsheet to organize them, including product names, short descriptions, and whether they’re premade or built to order.
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Purchase ingredients strategically: Source meats and cheeses in bulk from trusted national or local suppliers. Work with smaller vendors who offer consistent quality in smaller quantities for produce, bread, and extras like sauces or spreads.
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Decide on pricing: Price accurately to stay competitive while covering the cost of ingredients, labor, and operating expenses. Most delis aim for margins around 45% — if a sandwich costs $4 to make, price it around $7.27 to reach this goal.
Customized menu items simplify prep, build your deli’s personality, and keep customers returning for their favorites.
Equipment purchasing is another crucial step in opening a deli shop, especially if you’re moving into a new location. Depending on your menu and service style, you need basic items like prep tables, refrigerators, sinks, and more specialized gear like slicers, hot cases, or sandwich stations.
To find high-quality equipment:
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Compare prices across suppliers: Check multiple sources when pricing slicers, prep tables, cold cases, and upright refrigerators. Sites like WebstaurantStore or AutoQuotes can give you a useful range for budgeting and planning.
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Choose a slicer that fits your volume: Look for a commercial-grade model with adjustable settings and solid safety features. Hobart and Berkel are both dependable brands commonly used in deli operations.
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Select NSF-certified refrigeration: Opt for cold units that meet NSF International food safety standards. Glass-door models work well for front-of-house displays, while solid-door reach-ins are better for back storage.
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Explore leasing or financing options: Save on upfront costs by spreading payments over time. Many suppliers and financing services offer monthly plans that free up cash for inventory, staffing, or marketing.
Set up your kitchen with equipment that allows staff to move easily between prep, service, and cleaning. Map out where each station should go so you can organize storage, traffic flow, and workspace without running into bottlenecks.
Choose a POS System That Handles Food and Retail
Your point of sale (POS) system is your daily command center. To keep up with the pace of a delicatessen, you need software that can manage fresh food, packaged goods, and high-volume service in one place.
When opening a deli, look for an industry-tailored POS that lets you:
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Weigh products and price by the pound: Connect with integrated scales to automatically ring up sliced meats, cheeses, or salads.
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Print custom labels with ingredients and dates: Tag prepared items with expiration information, batch details, or heating instructions to meet health standards and keep your shelves organized.
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Route tickets to the right prep stations: Send sandwich orders to cold prep, hot bar items to the grill, and sides to a separate line — so each counter stays focused and service remains fast.
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Track inventory across fresh and packaged items: Monitor ingredients and shelf stock in one place, and flag low inventory or waste without needing separate systems.
If you’re not sure where to begin, industry experts like POS Nation help match retailers with systems built for food service, grocerants, and specialty markets.
Learn How To Open a Deli and Run It Successfully With Markt POS
Knowing how to open a deli means thinking through every part of the operation, including what you sell and how you run the counter. With the right plan, you can create a store that serves your community and stays profitable long-term.
Markt POS is built for food-focused retailers like delis, sandwich counters, and butcher stores. It handles everyday needs like scale integration, batch labeling, inventory tracking, and prep station routing, without slowing you down.
Use our Build and Price tool to explore pricing, hardware options, and features — and launch your deli with a POS solution built to scale with you.
