Business Profile: Somers Delicatessen, Somers

The food business has been a passion of Somers resident Karl Aakjar.

He has held a variety of jobs in the industry, including working at a deli owned by his father, Mark, in Cortlandt about 20 years ago.

“It’s always been a passion of mine,” Aakjar said last week.

That passion has culminated in the owning of his first business.

For the past eight months, Aakjar has owned and operated the Somers Delicatessen on Route 100.

“I’ve enjoyed being on the service end of dealing with people on a regular basis,” Aakjar said.

Aside from working in his father’s deli, Aakjar has been a waiter, a preparation cook and a regular cook. “I’ve done a little bit of everything. I haven’t really just specialized in just one thing,” he said.

Aakjar said he chose Somers as the location for his delicatessen “just because I really fell in love with the area. It was just the right time, right place.”

The deli offers a wide selection of hot and cold foods, including up to 30 different salads that are homemade; sandwiches with both cold cuts and meats roasted in the deli.

“Hot foods are changed daily,” Aakjar said.

On March 20, the deli offered lemon butter chicken cutlet, chicken quesadillas, beef tacos, as well as hot soups. The deli also offers breakfast and fresh tossed salads.

A variety of “signature sandwiches,” including grilled chicken with prosciutto, smoke gouda and barbecue sauce; breaded eggplant with  plum tomatoes, toasted walnuts, spinach and gorgonzola; and portabello mushrooms with sun-dried tomatoes, peppers, arugulia, tomatoes and baolsmaic glaze.

Aakjar and his father share the cooking chores. The duo both purchase bakes goods and bake some items, including Danishes, muffins, strudels, cheesecakes, pies and cannoli.

The deli offers a seating area, as well as a coffee and tea bar, which is called the “wake-me-up-bar.” The coffee is fresh ground.

Aakjar hopes to sell New York Lottery tickets in the future.  “We try to make it a one-stop shop,” he said.

Business has been “awesome” at his new establishment, Aakjar said. One of the keys to the establishment’s success is its location, which is shared with two other tenants, he said. “Between the Mexican Shack and Hair by Lisa, I couldn’t have asked for better neighbors,” he said.

The Somers Delicatessen is located at 256 Route 100. It is open Mondays through Saturdays from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Sundays from 5 a.m. to5:30 p.m. The deli’s phone number is 914-401-9230, the fax number is 914-401-9232 and the e-mail address is info@somersdeli.com. It can also be found on Facebook.

Neal Rentz