With new businesses opening up in Pawcatuck at a good rate, Pawcatuck couple Dawn Tosti and Don Gallant continued the trend as they recently opened On A Roll, an old-school New York-style deli. Located at 210 South Broad St. (Route 1), the opening of On A Roll signifies the achievement of a dream for both Tosti and Gallant, who said they're extremely happy to be opening up a deli in their own town, and at a great location.
"I've been in the restaurant business for 35 years and when the opportunity presented itself we jumped on it," Tosti said. "It's the perfect location; we wouldn't do it if it wasn't right here. This is our neighborhood."
The deli, which is open Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., offers an extensive menu of soups, salads, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches (including California, BBQ, buffalo, and Cajun style), and close to 30 sandwiches, which can be made on bread, grinder, wrap, or a roll. On A Roll is also serving breakfast daily, including eggs, omelettes, egg scrambles, breakfast sandwiches, and other specials. On Saturday mornings they even offer sausage gravy and biscuits.
While Tosti and Gallant are certainly ecstatic to have realized their dream, they acknowledged that it has taken a great deal of effort, as the couple commonly works around 16 hours a day. Both agree, however, that doing things the right way and making high-quality food is the only way they would ever do it.
"We love our new job," Tosti said. "We're working a lot because everything is homemade here; the chicken cutlets, the eggplant parm, all the meatballs, all the soups, the sausage and peppers-but we think that's the only way to do it. And the word is out I guess because everyone has been telling us, ‘The food is good,' ‘The chicken salad is delicious'... It's funny because I was in here the other day making the chicken cutlets and this lady came in and she was eying them. I asked her what she would like and she said, ‘Well, I'm not going to get a chicken cutlet today but I'm really glad to see that it's a real chicken cutlet, not a frozen patty.'"
Tosti attributes her cooking prowess to the skills she learned as a child in her grandmother's kitchen. And while seemingly everything is homemade, the few products that aren't are still of the highest quality, as the bread is delivered fresh daily from a traditional bakery in the Bronx, and meats are delivered locally from the renowned Westerly Packing Co. The high quality of their food has already led to a core of loyal customers, evident not only by the cars parked out front, but by all the thank-you notes and good wishes written on the signing wall by the front counter.
"Business has been good," Gallant said. "We've been lucky; it's only been a few weeks but it's been good, especially for opening in the middle of February, we can't complain. The chicken salad is coming back as No. 1 world famous," Gallant said. "That's our biggest mover, that and the meatballs."
"And the shaved steak," Tosti said. "Donnie is killing them on the grill; they love the shaved steak with onions, peppers, and cheddar cheese. They come in and ask for Donnie's famous. It's really been great. I love to cook, it's one of my passions, and it brings me joy. And what really brings me joy is when people really like the food; that's where the reward comes in. It's really great, I've waited my whole life to own my own business and now here it is."