Raleigh’s been waiting on this sandwich shop for years. Where to find it, soon-ish
Nearly five years in the making, (Ish) Delicatessen has been one of Raleigh’s most anticipated restaurants for a long time.
This spring, owner Matt Fern’s sandwich shop dream is finally coming true, with plans to open (Ish) in the former Pharmacy Cafe space within the Person Street Pharmacy in Raleigh. (The paragraph marks around the name are on purpose.)
On the surface, (Ish) is a sandwich shop nodding toward the great deli traditions, but never becomes one thing.
“It’s still sort of Jewish, still sort of Italian and still sort of celebrates the South,” Fern said.
Fern is a veteran of Raleigh’s restaurant scene and former beverage director for Ashley Christensen’s AC Restaurants group, which he left in 2016 to work on the deli that would eventually become (Ish)
In 2019, (Ish) was announced as a piece of the boutique Longleaf Hotel in downtown Raleigh. After COVID-related delays, building the deli near the hotel no longer made sense, Fern said. He started looking for new spaces around Raleigh. Fern will remain the food and beverage consultant for Longleaf Hotel and (Ish) will also provide food options for hotel guests.
‘Guilty food pleasures’
The beloved Pharmacy Cafe closed in 2020 as one of dozens of restaurants shuttered by the pandemic. Pharmacy Cafe owners Daniel Whitaker and Patrick Cowden now operate their Farmhouse Cafe in Wendell.
Fern said he signed a lease last weekend. The move from Longleaf to Person Street will make (Ish) a slightly smaller deli, with seating for around 25 inside and up to a dozen outside. The move will also condense the menu somewhat, a menu that will draw on roughly 60 different sandwiches in rotation.
“It’ll just take a little longer to rotate them all through,” Fern said.
Fern’s deli aims to embrace the kind-of and the sort-of parts of life, blending the worlds of a Jewish deli, an Italian deli and all the incongruous bits and pieces that might be tasty on a sandwich. There will be lunch counter stalwarts, like a pastrami on Boulted Bread rye with house-made mustard or bagels and lox, but also creations Fern has dreamed into being.
Take, for example, the (Ish) California Roll. Structurally it’s an ode to the Maine lobster roll. In taste it’s the great sushi gateway, but in sandwich form, Fern said. Imitation crab meat mixed with wasabi mayo, cucumbers and ginger pickled with rice wine vinegar, topped with shaved nori and avocado.
“It celebrates one of my guilty food pleasures,” Fern said. “It tastes exactly like a California roll, but eats like lobster roll.”
Some renovations will be made to the former Pharmacy Cafe space, Fern said, including expanding the kitchen slightly and moving the bar.
‘Dinner can sing a little louder’
Before the pandemic, opening a sandwich shop anywhere in downtown Raleigh meant feeding the lunch crowd of nearby workers. With many companies still working from home, downtown has emptied out and lunch-oriented spots have suffered mightily.
Moving (Ish) into the Oakwood neighborhood, Fern expects to find the work-from-home crowd, as well as nearby office workers, until the pandemic subsides. He also thinks the deli will take on more of a neighborhood restaurant vibe than it would have cozied up to the hotel.
“We always felt the lunch business would be the easiest to find,” Fern said. “We thought we could put this anywhere and lunch would be fine, plus delivery and takeout. Now I think dinner can sing a littler louder than in a lot of other places.”
Person Street has become its own little dining enclave, home to some of Raleigh’s best restaurants. Scott Crawford runs the high end with Crawford & Son and French bistro Jolie, Oakwood Pizza Box draws pizzeria fans from across the Triangle, the Station draws a crowd for burgers and newcomer Standard Beer & Food adds a brewery.
Fern believes there’s always room for a great sandwich.
“I’m so excited it’s finally happening,” Fern said.
This story was originally published February 2, 2021 at 1:34 PM.
