Joseph's Delicatessen — Restaurant in Spring Lake

Why publicly post hours if you dont abide by them?

Im a born and raised SL’er. I have been going there since i was in diapers. Bar none, best subs - anywhere.

I recently decided to treat the family to subs. Took everyones order and rushed out. It was 4:15. They close at 5. I arrived at 4:30. I stood at the door for 10 mins. Entrance was blocked as Joe handled a call.

Stood outside, in the cold of February on a crazy windy day waiting to be noticed.

Miraculously, i ws noticed as soon as I walked over the bench into the deli. “MAAAAM! We are CLOSED! Whaddya WANT?!”. “#7” i responded. “Yeah, we’re closed”. Guess it wasnt a big enough order to pique his interest. He continued to, literally, forcefully chide me out of his store.

As i passed by the 8x10’s if the great men who were my softball & swim coaches, I thought to myself, never setting a foot in this place again. On this oddly imposed walk of shame he put me through, i also passed all his prized Yankee possessions and i laughed my Irish Buns off.

The day prior, i spent three hours with Red Banks best appraiser. The items he could not properly appraise, which comprised 50% of my lot, were my priceless, ONE OF A KIND, Yankee paraphernalia. MR’s signed jersey (a nice one too - especially since he will be inducted into Cooperstown this year), one of kind first post 9/11 Yankee game / George Bush photos taken while ALL the players were walking back to the dugout, where I sat (with MR square in the center as he, Torres, Lemon, Jeter, Guliana, ETC walked directly towards me with their NYPD / FDNY Caps on. With the unfortunate anniversary coming up in less than 2 years, that would have been a nice score - as a free courtesy for serving my family the best subs we have ever had - anywhere.

Joe also would have enjoyed my familys heirlooms. We just discovered her uncle, Joe Campbell, was one of the original catchers for the Yankees. I had his mitt in my car. I had his photohrapghs in my car. I had antique yankee pics in my car. They are priceless and my trunk was covered in all of it.

Joe didnt recognize me. I was in a hat and shades. My guess is he would have done his job had he recognized me but we all know he doesn't need my 10 bucks.

One thing is for sure though, Joe would not have a biz in SL if it wasnt for the awesome oldtimers who grace his walls. Mr. Rigney, Al Gerner, Jack Phillips, all local legends - who actually worked hard for their money. Shame on you Joe. They have more class in their pinky..... Soeaking of Pinkies, i also have a NYY antique World Series Ring. - in my trunk. BAM!!!!! 💥

A mile down the road, i had a glorious sub at Roccos. They too are an old tyme establishment. Greeted not with a blockade or a man who doesnt want/need my business but rather 4 guys (one was the owner) who couldnt have been happier serving me. Thats a class act. I used to own a cafe. I know it can be hard but if you become “Joe-like”, u should ahut your doors and give aomebody else a try. SL could use some fresh blood.

Here is my tip du jour - you can not beat a Pathmark sub. Quick, convenient, half the price and BIGGER. Odd old men arent on the walls staring you down and you can ask for Cathy Adams - the manager - and tell her if you need anything special. She’ll take care of it - with a smile.

If anyone is interested in some free, priceless Yankess memorabilia, just hit me up. Actually, it wont be free. Itll cost ya whatever the price if a #7, plus tip, at Joe’s costs.

Oh! “Why was he closed early” you ask? Please, let me explain. “We ran out of bread”. Interesting since you never asked me what kind of bread i wanted.

Rye is actually my favorite and would have sufficed.

Joe, if you feel Al Gerners favorite third basewoman deserved better, feel free to say the...

I don’t think I’ve ever experienced something so horrific before going into an establishment. Upon entering the store, I was on the phone with my mother who currently has cancer and is in the hospital. I went into the store placed my mom on hold and placed my order. I was very specific even my mom on the phone told me that she was able to hear exactly what I said. The guy at the register spoke about that because he said that was a very Italian sandwich. As I already drove off I opened the sandwich and seen that it was incorrect. I took it back into the store and nicely stated “hey I asked for cheese, please make sure it’s melted” she then whispered under her breath and said “maybe next time you order don’t be on the phone” as if she’s not the one who got the order wrong??? I stated my entire order to her. SHE GOT IT WRONG. So I asked her “what did you say” and she did not want to repeat herself until she finally did. I then told her I am allowed to be on the phone with my mother as she’s in the hospital with cancer and she shouldn’t be upset when she’s the one who got the order wrong. She then told me “we don’t speak that way around here” I live up the street from this location. My family owns businesses in this area. I don’t even know what that comment was meant to intell but it’s disgusting. I would like the owner of this establishment to know that my social media platform surpasses 5.6 million followers worldwide and I’m going to create a very thorough video of every single thing that happened here and I recorded half of it. People like you should not own businesses if you have to pick and choose how to distinguish which customers you’ll treat with respect and which ones...

As of yesterday (May 19), NJ still requires everyone to wear masks inside stores. When I visited Joseph’s Deli yesterday, almost none of the employees were wearing masks, & 99% of customers also not wearing masks (since the staff was not wearing masks, they were obviously not enforcing the mask rule for their customers). Very expensive ($8.99 for half a sub), & service was not exactly friendly & welcoming. Will not be returning as the food was just ok & they are not interested in adhering to state laws to keep their...