Today we’d like to introduce you to Emma Stoddard.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My husband and I met at his restaurant in 2008 which he owned for 18 years. We were married in 2015 and now have 3 kids. We talked about a thousand business ideas through our relationship but never jumped at any one of them. In 2023 a restaurant space in downtown Fredericksburg became available and we jumped at the opportunity due to its great location. The building unfortunately had been more or less neglected for a few decades so we had our work cut out for us. 14 months later, we were able to open the doors to Galvins Deli and Rivers End speakeasy.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Over the last few years, we have been balancing a lot between kids, my real estate career, and the renovations on this restaurant on top of just starting a new restaurant in general. We also adopted a baby last Christmas. All in all everything seems to be working out, and we have each other for support. But there’s definitely financial struggles that pop up when you’re doing such a large project like this on top of things that always seem to be breaking, schedules that always need to be juggled and finding the balance between personal versus business life.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We are a New York inspired delicatessen that focuses on sandwiches, meats, soups and sides that are all made in house from scratch. We also make our own bagels and desserts. In the evening, doors open up the stairs where you find our sit down style restaurant/speakeasy cocktail bar. This concept was inspired by Emma’s great grandfather’s speakeasy behind an ice cream shop during prohibition. Emma grew up in New York City eating at Deli’s and being inspired by her Jewish grandmother’s cooking so that’s where a lot of the concept and inspiration came from for this restaurant specifically. We are very proud of the effort that gets put into our food. Most delis are known for just slicing cheap prepared meat, where alternatively we are putting in all the time and effort to actually brine, season, smoke or braise everything from farm to table literally. And with rising costs in almost every aspect, it’s hard to keep that level of preparation intact, but it is something we feel strongly about
What are your plans for the future?
We are just working to get better and more efficient all the time pay off some of those renovation debts that were incurred initially and see the business get to a place that is stabilized and running smoothly. We feel very fortunate that so many people enjoy our food and keep coming back week after week. We plan to pivot the business and open up other locations not necessarily Brick + Mortar restaurants but variations of what we’re currently doing.
Pricing:
- Most sandwiches are between $10-$18
- We also want people to know we do catering both box lunch, catering to larger weddings, and everything in between
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Galvinsdeli.com
- Instagram: @galvinsdeli
