McAlister's Deli — Restaurant in Ohio

Wife and I visited 6/11/2024. We had never been here before even though we had seen it driving by. We were nearby for some shopping and decided to stop by after checking the menu online. The New Yorker really intrigued me so the wife agreed it looked good and we went.

First things first - this location is a little weird to get in and out of. As a visitor to Boardman, it was a little hard to navigate it. I have a truck and the turns are a bit tight. This will be the only slightly negative thing I mention in this review.

We walked in and were greeted by Izzy. I've met a LOT of retail workers, but I have never met anyone as genuine and caring as Izzy. My wife and I felt like we were regular customers and see Izzy a few times a week when we come in. We mentioned it was our first time and Izzy gave us the most pleasant and informative welcome I think I've ever had at a restaurant. She took our order of 2 New Yorkers, a roast beef spud, and two sweet teas. After she got our order, she let us know seating, drinks, etc.

The wife and I poured our tea and grabbed a booth. The restaurant is impeccably clean. Our table and booth benches looked like they had just been professionally steam cleaned in the last week. Not a crumb to be found anywhere. As we waited for our food, another employee was cleaning another part of the dining room. She was really scrubbing the tables and not just the tops but I saw her wiping the legs and rungs of the chairs. I have never witnessed that in person and was really impressed to see that.

Our food arrived and I'm not sure where to start. The combination of pastrami and corned beef on a delectable rye bread with cheese and stone ground mustard is absolutely heavenly. We literally got the two most photo perfect sandwiches I think either of us has ever been served in a restaurant. The photo in the menu is 99% replicating what is served to you. That is very uncommon in restaurants. The flavor explosion of the sandwich in your mouth is insane. The roast beef spud is a baked potato with cheese and roast beef on it topped with au jus. That was such a unique flavor combination that is so incredibly satisfying. We both got mac and cheese for sides with our sandwiches. I am not 100% sure, but I think it is homemade. It had a wonderful bechemel based sauce with just the right amount of cheese. The macaroni was perfectly cooked. My only suggestion would be to add just a little more salt to the water when you boil the macaroni. And that's not a criticism, that's just a preference on my end. I really think that little bit more of salt like I used the shaker on the table to do makes the entire flavor profile pop.

As we were eating, the manager on duty stopped by to see how everything was. He introduced himself as Ian. Ian was absolutely amazing. We chatted for a few minutes about our visit so far, how impressed we were about Izzy, and even spoke a little on the location. Ian explained the rewards program for us so we would feel welcome to come back. He even gave us a coupon for when we come back (and we will for sure be back). We mentioned to Ian we are definitely coming back and he recommended some other sandwiches we might like and some options for dessert. Again, I've dined out a lot over the years and I've spoken with a lot of managers. Even though Ian is younger, he is definitely a leader. When Ian was at the table we had mentioned the woman who had greeted us (we didn't remember her name cuz ADHD) and Ian was so quick to identify who it was so he could make sure they got the compliment. That right there is the definition of a leader. You can tell Ian is passionate about customer service and making sure a darn near perfect product is sold. There is a devotion to the craft and it shows.

As the wife and I drove home, we discussed our experience and we are looking forward to our next stop by. I really hope we get to say hi to Ian and Izzy again. They really make the visit there an experience. PS - apologies for forgetting to take pics of the...

Besides the prices being outrageous, I'm disappointed with the hiring process here. My son sat and waiting to be interviewed 40 mins past his interviewed scheduled time. I checked on him twice, because I had to wait outside for him. 2 weeks after he put in his application, we called to check on the status of the application. We were told that they couldn't find his application, but the hiring manager will be in and maybe she'd be able to find it the next day. He called back to check on the status of his application, and was told that they were still doing onboarding. He might be getting a call the next day. The day after that, he gave a call to check on the status of his application (once again) and was told that she just finished giving people calls for their onboarding and that he should receive a call by the ending of the day. As you can tell he never received a call. As I am a grown woman and I already know after the 1st day of calling, that they were not interested in hiring him. I did not tear down his dreams of his first job. Today I called again and of course the hiring manager was still not around to take our call.I simply just hung up. I don't understand why they can't be upfront with people and just simply say we have filled the position already. I hated having to tell my son that this wasn't the job for him. Even though he was very excited to work here. And I do know and understand that they are looking for older more experience workers, but they need to be upfront when we are calling to check on the status of an...

I’ve already been a fan of McCalisters which was why when I found out one was in Youngstown I literally dropped what I was doing to get a club sandwich and broccoli cheddar soup…my 5 stars is for the food and workers at this location…my tip for management though is if you need to talk to your employees about anything especially attire DON’T YELL AT YOUR EMPLOYEES LOUD ENOUGH FOR A PERSON LIKE ME TO HEAR YOU AND TELL YOU HOW UNPROFESSIONAL YOU ARE IN A PUBLIC REVIEW…. I specifically heard him saying THIS IS NOT MCDONALD’S THIS IS NOT BURGER KING THIS IS NOT POPEYES , I’ve never seen this done at any of those establishments, Especially if it’s about attire, as a manager you should know better and shouldn’t have your position at all if this is the environment you want you customers to see and apparently as I’m writing this another manager is yelling at another employee on the phone…I’m starting to feel bad for the employees for having to deal with management like this especially at a new location…it’s called time and place and in front of customers is not the time or place especially on the phone at the...