Al & Joe's Foods & Liquors, Inc. — Restaurant in Leyden Township

I did not need to come here today. It was a friend that suggested we drive out of our way to go here. This is a place I remember from my youth in the 70s and 80s!

As happens so often, the founders are no longer running the place. I believe Mike m, the son is running/ owning the place.

I hope you’re reading this Mike for what I am sharing is to help you, it is not to beat you up. It is to help you understand the way I think and so many think that will help keep your business thriving!

My friends, memory and love of this place being a big-time foodie, lead me to spend over a $100!

Prices are are inflated everywhere however, I got three large Italians, two Ruben sandwiches, and 10 cannolis. The total was $103.

My friend George at the register in front of me with Mike, the owner standing by watching, I suggested that he not charge him for the bottle of Italian dressing for him to take home and use on all the sandwiches he ordered! I suggested this, as he brought in someone like me that will refer this to everybody they have opportunity to if the place was a considerate, generous and loving place.

It is not a loving place and it’s clear when Mike tells you that, Oh sorry times are just too tough!

They get a lot rougher when again, somebody like me that will not return with others or suggest to any of my many family members that live in the area to cater from there!

Customer Service 101 is being grateful for the people that refer others and bring them to spend a lot of money by showing gratitude by giving someone a bottle of your Italian dressing that at cost is negligible for all the business they brought you! It doesn’t make any sense to me in the way I would behave in business.

Good luck and Mike if you have decided to take a different perspective on trying to grow that business. Let me know!

UPDATE: 3/19/2024

Mike you’re right. The amount I spent does not entitle me to value added (free) stuff. It’s not what we say that people remember it’s how they makes us feel.

The feeling myself and my friend felt was, that we are only money not a person that is a customer. The feeling at your place was of lacking not generosity.

When I was at the register paying, the question came up if I had cheese on my Reuben sandwich. I’ve always understood Rubens as a single assembly that included cheese and you were not charged extra for. My friend and I were a bit taken aback by that idea.

The businesses that we run are not any different than the life we live outside of them. In my life, I always want people to feel as they are important, and my generosity always comes back to me tenfold!

I wish you...

I have been coming to Al and Joe's for the last 3 months to get subs... Probably the best sub this side of the city.. However.. I have the menu for the restaurant witch includes pizza and pasta.. Near the back of the menu is daily specials.. The Saturday special is a spaghetti or most dinner with meatball, salad, garlic bread and a pop for $8.95. Dine in only This last Saturday I took my whole family to try this special.. Upon arrival the dining room door was locked so we had to go through the store front... We all sat down at tables in the dining room.. After about 20 min of being ignored we flagged down a guy who said he would find help.. He then came back into the room with a laminated menu.. We wanted to place a order with him and he said he would be back with a pen and paper... When he came back he rudely interrupted us by saying that Al and Joe's only specializes in subs.. We were there for the advertised special in the menu.. When I asked for the special his response was I'm not sure if we serve that here.. "I know we have subs though".. he said.. His rudeness made my family want to leave.. When we were leaving I mentioned that we had came specifically to try the Saturday special and his response was.. "People get subs when they come here.. What do you want me to do"... I will return to get subs but my family will not return after the way we...

More than 'love it'!. We had pastrami sandwich, corned beef sandwich, original Italian sub and tortellini salad. The corned beef was fresh, tender, and very flavorful. Pastrami was the same tender and very flavorful, both came with half of dill pickle (that was one of the best dill pickle I had in many years, would rank in the top 5 of my entire life). The original Italian sub was just as good as the other 2. The freshness of the tortellini salad would blow you out of the water. Cost is a little more than other sandwich shops,, its worth the cost and more. Friendly people (I think the older gentleman that helped us might be the owner). Thank you all at Al & Joe's, the only highlight of this trip to the Midwest. We hope visit again before we leave Chicago. (The smell and hunger got us before walking in the shop, we devoured the first 2 sandwiches before we even thought about taking a picture to share, we only took a picture of the outside). Sixth stars need to be added...