The Story of our Deli





Zingerman’s Delicatessen opened in March 1982 in a historic building near the Ann Arbor Farmers Market. The Deli was founded by Paul Saginaw and Ari Weinzweig, two friends who dreamt of creating a traditional Jewish deli that would bring very special foods to Ann Arbor in a way that was unique to them. Needless to say, they succeeded! Over the years, Zingerman’s has expanded to become a family of independently-owned food and service-focused businesses, known as the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses, And, many decades later, the Deli remains a source of great food and great experiences for thousands of guests every year.

Nowadays, the Deli is led by a trifecta of equally food-focused managing partners: Grace Singleton, Rick Strutz, and Rodger Bowser.

a photo of Deli Managing Partners Rick Strutz, Grace Singleton and Rodger Bowser sitting on the bench in front of the Deli

Deli Managing Partners

Grace Singleton knew from the beginning that she was destined for a life full of food (and she may or may not have thought the food industry would be glamorous thanks to a New Orleans restaurant where she received special treatment, sitting at the captain’s table and sampling Frangelico (a hazelnut liquor) at the age of 13!). She received her culinary degree at Paul Smith’s College in upstate New York and managed restaurants across Ohio and Michigan. She found her way to Ann Arbor for the role of general manager at the Gandy Dancer. While she settled into her new town, Grace became a fan of the Deli. Eventually, an opportunity to join us popped up. She made the jump, calling it “the very best job in the food industry,” and in 2004, she stepped up from retail manager to managing partner.

Rick Strutz has an impressively diverse resume. Before entering the hospitality industry, he was an encyclopedia salesperson, a hat maker, a grocery store sign painter, and a ski instructor (and about seven other equally disparate positions). He settled into a role consulting start-up food businesses, helping them focus on service and systems. His experiences took him across the American geographical and culinary landscape, from hot dog stands to high-roller steak houses, and helped shape him into a leader who’s passionate about helping others, “I really enjoy making someone’s day better. Most of the time it’s not that difficult and I believe it has a pretty positive impact on folks,” Rick says. He came to the Deli in 2002 as restaurant manager and joined Grace as a managing partner in 2007.

Rodger Bowser knew he wanted to be a chef in middle school, and went to culinary school as soon as he could, at the age of 17. He started his career at the Deli making sandwiches in 1995 (while juggling jobs at two other local restaurants, too). He made the Deli kitchen his home base as he followed his curiosity into kitchens across the country and overseas, including training at Chez Panisse and Ballymaloe Cookery School in Cork, Ireland. He eventually made his way back to the Deli full-time, and in 2010, joined Grace and Rick as a managing partner, saying, “I dreamed of owning a sandwich shop when I was in culinary school and now I get to work in one of the best.” Fun fact: the #5, “Rodger’s Big Picnic,” is indeed named after Rodger, and he still has the original sign for it, which was made on the bottom of an asparagus crate.

So much more than sandwiches

a photo of Zingerman's Greyline

Zingerman’s Deli is known as the place to enjoy made-to-order sandwiches piled so high with premium ingredients you need two hands to hold them. We’re also so much more. Visiting us is a one-of-a-kind experience! We’re a place to find traditionally-made, full-flavored foods that taste great and are fun to eat. We create Jewish classics like knish and noodle kugel, seasonally-focused salads and sides, and even full catered meals. We’re also a place to find traditional foods from our fellow Zingerman’s businesses, like hearth-baked breads, small-batch gelato, and single-estate coffees. We’re a place to discover exceptional authentic products with heritage and history, from estate-bottled olive oil to well-aged wheels of farmhouse cheese and varietal bottles of vinegar to artisanal salami; and we’re an exciting place to learn about them in guided tastings and classes. It’s a place for community, where anyone and everyone can share an appreciation and love of good food in a comfortable and welcoming environment. It’s a place rooted in great service, where folks can expect a rewarding, memorable experience.

From the brick building to today

a photo of the original Deli building in the evening with the street lights turned on

Our two-story, orange brick, main building, with its mere thousand square feet of selling space, has been in the food business its whole life: it was built as a grocery in 1902. We’ve expanded over the years, both our physical footprint and our scope of operations. Additions were added to the original building in 1986 and again in 2012, the latter one earned Gold Level LEED Certification. In 1991, the house next door was renovated—and named, appropriately, the Next Door Café—as a spot to enjoy a cup of coffee or tea and house our ever-expanding selection of specialty chocolates. In 1996, we launched Zingerman’s Catering & Events to bring “the Zingerman’s experience” beyond the Deli’s doors, providing everything for intimate gatherings to parties for thousands. And in 2016, the Deli opened the Greyline, an event space for up to 200 located six blocks away in the heart of downtown Ann Arbor. (It’s named for the building’s former tenant and the exterior is still adorned with the historic neon bus depot sign!)

Often referred to as an Ann Arbor institution, we’ve been honored with a number of accolades over the years: 

  • Food & Wine magazine named the Deli as “One of the top 25 food markets in the world” and included ZIngerman’s in their first-ever list of “Great Restaurants to Work For,” highlighting the companies working to make restaurant jobs better. 
  • Inc. magazine named Zingerman’s “the coolest small company in America.” 
  • – USA Today declared that Zingerman’s Deli “serves some of the world’s best sandwiches.” 
  • – Oprah Winfrey rated a Deli sandwich (#97 Lisa C.’s Boisterous Brisket) an “11” on a scale of one to five. 
  • – The Deli was a James Beard Award finalist in the Outstanding Service category.

Our vision forward

We’re honored! (And blushing.) But, we’re never content to rest on our laurels. We actively work to improve, innovate, and look to the future. We’re always making ingredient improvements, like introducing local, small-farm produce and adding locally-made sauerkraut to our iconic Reuben. We evaluate and refine our systems, like streamlining our complex, international buying operation of over 5,000 ingredients and applying LEAN strategies to our sandwich-making line so we can maximize the number of sandwiches we’re getting to hungry folks.

By 2028, we envision drastically improving our guests’ service experience (yes, yours!), like with the implementation of a single number to call to reach us for anything—groceries, sandwiches, and/or catering. We’re working towards creating an expanded wholesale product line, like having a line of sandwich meats available in southeastern Michigan grocery stores and beyond. And, we’re planning for meeting our next round of environmental goals, like the addition of solar panels, defined sustainability parameters for vendors, and the ability to host minimal/zero-waste events. 

We wouldn’t be here without your support. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve you,  thank you for sharing good food and good times with us, and thank you for being a part of our community.