The Farmhouse Deli & Pantry — Restaurant in Douglas

While visiting from out of town I decided to meander around and visit some other towns. Since arriving in Michigan I had been craving a sandwich and recognized that for whatever reason it's kind of hard to find a cold sub here!! So when I saw the Farmhouse deli sign I pulled in! I could tell from the packed parking lot that it was going to be pretty busy so I wasn't surprised to see a large line when got inside. They were very up front in letting me know that sandwiches were running about a half hour and so I just decided to grab a cold sandwich and some side dishes and have a picnic at my air BNB. The ladies working there were very nice and doing well to keep up with the crowds. In fact despite how busy it was one actually brought me a basket when she noticed that I was full-handed and continuing to add to my cache. I loved the broccoli/kale/brussel sprout salad and could have doubled down on that. I appreciate that it did not have heavy mayonnaise or oil which is so hard to find in a good broccoli salad. I was most excited about the beet salad but I have to admit that I tossed it after one bite. Cumin and beats are a combination that I do not enjoy. The egg salad on the other hand was quite yummy. One piece of feedback would be to give a little bit more information on the prepared sandwiches. My only option was a Jambon Buerre which had Rosemary ham and at least a quarter stick of butter. It looked delicious but I had never eaten one before. I thought maybe it was a Michigan sandwich so I sent pictures to my friend and asked her how I was supposed to eat it and she Let me know it was not a Michigan thing and that her guess would be that I should cook it to melt the butter. When I sent my husband a picture he said the same thing. I really wanted a cold sandwich so I took the extra step to look it up and was glad to see that it is in fact a cold sandwich although I'll probably remove a little bit of that butter. I bought a few extra supplies as well and everything was delicious.

To the gentleman who accused them of being political for flying a pride flag and not flying a US flag in July, just stop. Unless they came up to your shop and accused you of not flying a pride flag along with your US flag then they are not the ones...

Eh... I honestly don't understand how there are so many positive reviews. I had a pretty poor experience and it seems like the deli is not being managed well. I personally would not recommend this place.

1. Wait Time - waited nearly an 1 1/2 hours for (2) sandwiches. That is absurd and obviously, something is off in their kitchen to cause such a backlog.
2. Communication - no one communicated to us that there would be such a long wait or else we would have grabbed bakery items/ cold items and left. Seems dishonest to withhold and not advertise this information (very cash grabby).
3. 50/50 Taste - got the the vegan banh mi - this was curry tofu on bread not a banh mi... Ended up with a stomach ache. (Not a lot of veggie / vegan options considering the vibe and demographic of the place - basically 2 options 3 if you count eggs) Lemon bar was soupy. Cake was good, pork sandwich okay.
4. Bad Layout - their layout seems confusing and chaotic. You are intended to do a U but you have staff coming from all directions so it is unclear who is supposed to be taking your order and it stalls the line (seems like the sandwiches/ cold items should be separate from bakery/ salad and have their own check out).
5. Staff Yelling - in line with the bad layout multiple times staff is yelling out to patrons to get their attention but nobody can follow what's going on so the Staff was straight up being ignored and the line is stalled. The system for handing out sandwiches is just the staff walking around shouting people's names. Felt bad for the staff because it seems inefficient and stressful. Should get a loud speaker system and have a counter for pickup.
6. Angry Customers - people definitely got upset started complaining at the counter to get their food and jump the line situation. Everyone walking away with sandwiches were basically shaking their head and scoffing, one guy even started yelling as he walked out the door. It was an extremely uneasy and unpleasant...

This place was recommended to us. We were excited about the concept.

You walk in, place your order, received a bit of tude from the counter, then, boom, had to wait over an hour, for sandwiches.

They told us 45 minutes. It was 70 minutes.

I recommend you buy your drinks closer to when your food comes out. They do have water stations.

I also don't recommend tipping. This is 100% self service!! Here's my tip, increase the farm to table wait time and come and serve me a delicious meal with a smile.

So, we had 4 sandwiches.

The Cuban, was very messy and didn't taste fresh. Trust me, I am cuban, they are meant to be pressed, not messy.

The BLT, had super watered tomatoes. Hard to taste anything else over that. Made the bread soggy.

The pork sandwich had some nicr fresh crunchy toppings on top but unfortunately, it completely overpowerrd the smoked pork which was supposed to be the star.

And the chicken salad sandwich. Had one tiny red onion so my wife had to go back and ask for some on the side. The chicken was very bland.

The salad was tasty and had robust flavors.

With all due respect, what left us disappointed was the service. The help had poor edicate, as if we were to feel privileged we got to eat there.

No thank you, no sorry for the wait, nothing. And here again, they ask for tips for us to serve ourselves?

When the food is ready they come out of the kitchen barking your name with a wrapped sandwich in their hand. Picture that.

It's sad to see the young generation work with these pretentious attitudes.

You may be busy, good for you but there is no excuse for the thick attitude in the air for serving medicor...