Two Beards Deli — Restaurant in Grand Rapids

I typically don’t give out 5-stars. For service and atmosphere sure but for food it’s hard to say what warrants a 5-star review however I find that 4-stars is just not fair because the level of satisfaction I experienced was well beyond a 4-star level. I also think that despite this place being a local institution, the competition in this town is stiff and those establishments who consistently perform at a high level need all the help they can get to stay above the rising tide.

My first time going here was with some colleagues from work and I have only been to Grand Rapids a couple of times before. The menu is expansive but after closer inspection it makes sense. White bread, wheat bread, sub buns (I’ll get into this in a second), pretzel buns, wraps, and more. Fillings that range from capicola to banana peppers, chicken salad, and mushrooms. It seems like there may just be a sandwich for all fans of savory sandwiches. They also accept substitutions and modifications. The prices are incredibly fair for what you’re getting. The soups are also popular but I didn’t have the pleasure of trying one.

The Dom Deluise: a glorified chicken caprese, but better, hot and served on a toasted sub bun. The chicken is shredded and well seasoned, all the fillings make their own impact on the composition and depth of flavor in the sandwich. The sub bun. Let it be heard: wherever you’re getting this bread, DO NOT STOP GETTING IT. Perfect chew, perfect crisp, perfect flavor. Outstanding and very few places have this type of amazing bread being offered. A little small and a little thin but who cares, this is a very uncommon quality of bread and will be appreciated by those with a special eye for quality. Simply put, if you know; you know.

The Fred Sanford: I can’t even remember everything that goes into this but I thought to myself as I was eating it that this might be the best combination of sandwich ingredients I’ve ever tasted. Not necessarily the best sandwich I’ve ever had in my life BUT

It’s in the running, which is absolutely saying something.

Is the bread something to write home about, is the quality of the ingredients spectacular, is this a once in a lifetime experience, do they offer things you simply cannot get anywhere else

At what point are any of these questions relevant to an experience in our daily lives where we can walk into a neighborhood sandwich joint and walk out with a damn good lunch that doesn’t break the bank and yet simultaneously is the level of quality dreams can aspire to reach.

I simply couldn’t wait to get this review written. Bravo two beards, until...

I placed a large ADVANCE order for my staff in celebration of national employee appreciation day. I will not be using Two Beards for large orders in the future. I would not recommend trusting them with large or catering orders as it appears as if they are too complex for staff to handle. They ask that you place large orders 24 hours in advance. I did this with a pick-up time scheduled the next day at 11:45 am. I spent a lot of time and effort individually writing thank you notes to go with their orders for each of my staff. The notes were of little effect when their food showed up almost an hour late and cold/soggy in many cases. I arrived to pick up my order at 11:37am. It had not been started. I watched over the next hour as sandwiches were put into the bag for my order slowly. It was placed in the take out bag forty minutes or more before the order was completed and handed over to me. No wonder some of the food was cold. I watched as smaller orders were completed and handed out before sandwiches on mine were even started. Three times I had to go out and put more time on the parking meter to avoid get ticketed because the 15 minutes I anticipated needing to pick up my confirmed order turned into an hour. I also had the joy of making a last minute dash to the store to replace the ranch dressing ordered for the salad on my order that was not in the bag. My employees felt far from appreciated. The funds I have budgeted to spend on them to help them feel appreciated have been wasted on a poor quality result. The only explanantion I received is that they were busy and short staffed. Not sure why no one reached out when they opened and knew this was going to impact orders placed for that day to let customers know of the impact to their orders. Not sure why they accepted and confirmed large orders if they were not able to handle them due to volume and staff. Its a shame because I really do enjoy the food here. However, it appears as if smaller orders are the only ones that can deliver on the quality I experienced previously.

Update the business refunded my order. While that doesn't change the experience it does help make things right and is appreciated. I likely won't try a large order again but will eat here myself because it is very tasty...

2025 Pros: new point system tied to phone# Cons: sandwiches have increased $4.50 (about $17/ea) and quality/quantity has decreased

We visited and ordered 3 sandwiches. Three sandwiches (no sides or drinks) will set you back $55. Even taking into consideration rising costs, this is a bit too much for me. Also, it was really disappointing bc it seems as though the amount of meat/filling has notably decreased. It’s such a cool business and I don’t like to report negatives -but it was already a bit pricey so we didn’t visit often -now, sadly, we probably won’t return. If you look at my old vs new pics, you can see the difference in the sizes of the sandwiches as well as the prices these past 6 months.

2024: Pros: great sandwiches Cons: a kind spot for the houseless to drink beverages and use the bathroom -which, unfortunately, ends up in them also asking for money (repeated x2) making the experience a little awkward.

This time around we tried The Anchor and The Hulihee. They were fantastic! Although we did end up changing to takeaway. It is very kind of Two Beards to open their bathrooms and give out beverage cups and a place to sit for the houseless. This said, erratic behavior on top of being asked multiple times for money (once outside and once inside) or to buy sandwiches (x1 same folks came inside and sat next to us) made the experience a little uncomfortable. I truly hate to sound like a Karen. And I hope this doesn’t come off as such. In my experience, saying no or yes results in multiple interactions and I just wanted to eat my sandwich without having repeated further interruptions that provoke my own anxieties of either guilt from saying no or feeling pressured to purchase more and more donated items if saying yes.

Original review: OMGosh. O. My. GOSH! One of the top 5 sandwich places of my LIFE! I got the Randy Savage cold sammich; my hubs got the Klingon hot sammich. We were both GROANING. So many choices, it was hard to decide -but I don’t think you can make a bad choice here. We will definitely be back soon to try more!!! Staff were hella friendly and the deli had a fun...