In The Kitchen With Joe: ‘Big Dally’s Deli’

HASTINGS, Neb. (KSNB) - For the last 35 years, ‘Big Dally’s Deli’ has served up delicious deli sandwiches to the people of Hastings and surrounding communities.

It was started by Michael Bruns and his wife, after they had a less than favorable experience at another sandwich shop.

“My wife and I went into a large chain restaurant because we were in a hurry one time going to a wedding in another town, and we ate the sandwiches and thought they were okay, but I knew from my experience in the food business that we could do a much better job,” said Bruns.

Opening a location in downtown Hastings, Bruns needed a name. So he came up with ‘Big Dally’s’ in a unique way.

“My dad’s name was Dallas and at work his nickname was Dallly, so like ‘Big Dally get the phone’, so I just kinda stole that,” Bruns explained.

The deli says they’re home to a “bazillion and one different sandwiches”, and when you look at the board you can see why. There’s many different combinations to choose from, and it can be a bit overwhelming for new time guests. Luckily, there’s experience employees available to assist.

“We’re very luck to have the employees that we have,” said Matt Bruns, manager of ‘Big Dally’s #2′. “We’ve had such loyal employees over the years. We have two people that are with us 25 years plus, several people that have been here 10 years or more, and almost every employee we’ve had has been here at least a year. We’re super lucky in terms of finding the right people.”

At the end of the day, the most important thing the Bruns’ want, is to make the customers happy.

“I love what we do,” explained Matt. “I love being able to put together a good sandwich for people. There’s nothing more rewarding than making a sandwich and recommending things to people and then have people tell me ‘that’s the best sandwich I’ve ever had’.”

“We’re here to serve our customers. That’s why we have such a wide selection, is because we’ve listened to our customers, tried to catch on to everything they really want, or willing to pay for by the way, and that’s why we have the huge selection of over 50 sandwiches,” said Michael.

You can find out where you can visit ‘Big Dally’s, as well as hours of each location, here.

Link to Big Dally’s website here.

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