Deane's Market & Deli — Restaurant in Geneva Township

A few friends and I went to Deane's on Saturday for lunch.

When we got there I looked at the menu, and is my habit asked if there was any black pepper in the sandwich I was thinking of ordering as i am very allergic to it. The girl went to find out and said there was in the sauce they use (the sauce was an important part of the sandwich). Ok, I made another selection, and asked the same question. Again she had to dash off to ask someone. Cue this happening for the next three items I asked about.

Finally, the last sandwich I asked about, the caprese sandwich, she said there was no pepper on it so I said ok I'll have that, and as my husband was paying, went to the bathroom.

When I came out about 2 minutes later, my husband was at our table and was absolutely Livid. He said that apparently there was pepper on that as well, that apparently every single item on the menu had black pepper in/on it. and, had lost his temper and said for the girl to just make his wife something she could actually eat, he didn't care what. When I heard that, I took the receipt from him and went back to the counter and asked the girl to remove the sandwich my husband paid for for me as I didn't want it.

She began arguing (for lack of better phrasing) with me saying they were going to make something for me. I said no thank you, I no longer want a sandwich, please refund the sandwich. She kept going on about it. I repeated, twice more, please remove the sandwich, I no longer want it, I'm done. Then she says you're getting upset, I don't want you upset. I said I'm getting upset because you are not listening to me. Please remove the sandwich. I do not want it. She finally went through the process of refunding the sandwich.

I should be able to go into a deli and get a simple sandwich, but was not able to because this deli uses black pepper in everything. That's flipping ridiculous. Why would you put pepper in/on everything?

When I asked the girl for a refund, I should not have had to stand there and repeat myself 4 times because she refused to listen and refund, and instead decided...

Came here on St. Patrick’s Day and enjoyed one of the best Reuben sandwiches I’ve ever had! That was not surprising, since every time I’ve been here, both the food and service have been absolutely fantastic. I am shocked by the negative reviews that say they experienced rude and poor service. Certainly, anyone can have a bad day, but I have never seen it happen here. The owners live here in the community and care deeply about it. If you truly had a bad experience here once, have a heart and give them another try. And to the person who complained that everything has black pepper in it, may I suggest that when you go into a restaurant to order, start by telling them that you are allergic to black pepper and ask them what your options are? I have lived with family members for years who have somewhat unusual food allergies, and this approach has worked...

My wife and I live out of town, and we were visiting friends in Geneva for the weekend. What a cool restaurant! Comfortable environment and delicious food. I also enjoyed the local art on the walls.

What stood out most to us was their level of service. After my wife received our sandwich on multigrain bread, she realized she had forgotten to ask if the bread had any tree nuts, due to her allergy. At first we asked the staff and they were unsure. So they remade her a new sandwich on a different bread at their expense. Several minutes later, the manager comes to our table having found the ingredients list to let us know there were no nuts in the bread. The manager really went the extra mile and put our minds at ease knowing an allergic reaction would not happen. Many thanks to you for the extra efforts! Happy holidays!

P.S. the peanut butter cookies...