If you’ve visited our new location on the lower level of the Dewitt-Seitz Marketplace, you may have noticed a big change to our business: We’ve separated our deli counter from our sandwich-making operation! This is, ultimately, a good change, but it does merit some explanation.
Wherever on the Smokehaus regular-to-future first-time customer spectrum you land, we hope this helps guide you through your next Northern Waters Smokehaus experience. Topics covered will include Entering the Space, our new Divided Service model, How to Order and more!
Plenty of indoor browsing and dining space. More seating than ever!
Entering the Space
Now that we are located in the basement of DeWitt-Seitz, there are three different ways you can enter Northern Waters: the Front Door, the Central Stairs from the main floor of DeWitt-Seitz, and the Elevator.
The Front Door (see above) is accessible through our patio space at the corner of Buchanan Street and South Lake Avenue and down a short flight of stairs. It opens directly into the sandwich line, which can be circumnavigated to head to the deli counter.
The Central Stairs are located near the center of the building on the first floor. The hallways of all the public doors of the building converge at this staircase, which you’ll head down to enter our space. The door at the bottom of the stairs will be propped open during business hours, and customers accessing our store via the elevator will also enter through this threshold.
The Elevator opens up to an unmistakable sign, and an arrow-marked hallway that leads you past multiple NWS service doors. Since this hallway doubles as a service lane for our staff, it’s sort of like a Smokehaus safari: You may see our staff pushing carts loaded with bins of smoked fish or prepared sandwich meats down the hallway as you pass, in order the access to our production facility, the staff access to our deli counter, the prep room, and the staff access to our kitchen before entering at the same door as the Central Stairs.
Divided Service
For the majority of our deli’s 25 years of service, one of the most common customer frustrations has been the following: Why, if they’re just trying to order a chunk of Traditional Smoked Atlantic Salmon, must they wait behind a line of people ordering sandwiches?
For the longest time, it was simply the best we could manage, given our set up. During the pandemic, when we closed our doors to the public, advanced pickup orders mitigated the issue somewhat, but in-person orders at “the window” faced the same problems as before, with the added hang-up of our “grocery” service suffering. Let’s face it, part of the fun of going to a deli is pointing out your ideal chunk of fish, or having a real conversation about the meats you want sliced, and with what cheese, etc. you should pair them.
Furthermore, we have an extensive menu of sandwiches, salads, and an equally diverse selection of drinks hard and soft. Navigating that menu deserves its own dedicated experience and staff to assist you. For reasons, we’ll cover in this section, we have largely eliminated advanced ordering at our deli counter, so the downtime while you wait for your sandwich order is a great time to check out our deli counter.
Introducing: the Sandwich Counter and the Deli Counter.
The Sandwich Counter line forms just inside from our Buchanan St entrance, and weaves through a guided path past our sandwich and beverage menus. Once you arrive at the register, you’ll be able to order sandwiches, salads, sides, and beverages for here or to go. Notably, transactions at our Sandwich Counter will not include grocery orders. You’ll order smoked fish, salumi, sliced meats, and grab-and-go items at the Deli Counter. Online orders for Sandwich Counter items can still be made through our website. For now, we are not accepting orders over the phone. Customers with mobility issues will be given priority at our Sandwich Counter, as the line is narrow and wind-y — please work with our staff if you need accommodations.
One other point of interest is how you receive your order. To-go and pickup orders are bagged and available for pickup at a small counter labeled ‘Pickup,’ while for-here orders will be given a number, which we’ll use to run food directly to your table.
The Deli Counter is now a classic deli counter. Here, you’ll get face-to-face interaction with our staff, and expert advice as you order smoked fish and meats, salumi, cheese, and more. You’ll recognize it by the white subway tile backsplash, the iconic neon sign, and (of course) the row of charcuterie-stuffed deli cases. The flow of things is a little bit looser over on this side (for now! In busier times, we may incorporate a bit more structure to the process) and we have shopping baskets on hand for you to use while perusing our grab-and-go case, cheese case, merchandise area (where you’ll find clothing, posters, our cookbook, and more), and various meat and fish cases. Once you’ve gathered your various sundries, you’ll head to the register for checkout. Notably unavailable at this counter would be a.) items ordered at the Sandwich Counter, and b.) advanced online orders.
Our purpose in separating these core elements of our business basically boils down to: More streamlined service improves customer experience, and decreases wait times. A sandwich order needn’t wait for its deli counter items to go out, and vice-versa. While the kitchen prepares your food, you’re free to check out our deli counter or lounge in our seating space
One more note on this subject: A bit of advice. If you’d like to optimize your use of time when ordering from both sides of the business, generally, you’ll want to begin by ordering prepared items from the kitchen. The deli counter is, with certain exceptions, typically quicker moving.
How to Order
In this section we’ll briefly cover again the available items, and how you can place orders, at each counter.
Sandwich Counter
Sandwiches, salads, sides, beverages
Advanced order online, or wait in line to place an order in-person
No phone orders at this time. Please help us keep our phone lines open for order adjustments, corrections, and questions.
Deli Counter
Smoked fish and meats, salumi, cheese, grab-and-go items, merchandise (including clothing, posters, and our cookbook)
Order in-person from the product experts staffing our deli counter; larger and more-involved advanced orders can be arranged via email ( sales@nwsmokehaus.com )
No phone orders at this time. Exceptions, such as seasonal pre-order specials, will be noted on our website and in our newsletter.
By separating our Deli Counter from our Sandwich Counter, by limiting what types of orders we accept, and by allowing customers spending their time and money in our new space more streamlined options for payment, we hope to improve your overall experience in our new location. We’re writing this guide during the (relatively) slow season for our deli, where workflow and ticket time issues may be less apparent, but once those Summer sandwich lines start kicking in, we hope our division and refocusing of service ensures the shortest possible wait times, maximum good times, and excellent customer service.
Try as we may, it is nigh impossible to create a concise, yet comprehensive, guide for our customer experience that covers all possible questions; and as we grow into our new space, potentially adding new services, extending hours, and more, things are bound to change. For inquiries related to topics not covered in this guide, ask our friendly and knowledgeable staff, or shoot us an email or direct message on the social media accounts. We do our best to respond during the M-F work week.
