Shop offers wine, cigars and deli food

Henderson couple opens Old Tyme Deli, a family business

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At 7 years old, Frank Seman got his start in the family business, a Michigan grocery that sold everything imaginable, including wine, cigars, pizza and some deli food.

"In the old days, I worked in the back room, separating the bottles because they came with a deposit," he said. "I don't miss that."

A lot has changed, but in some ways, things are very much the same.

Frank and his wife, Nancy, own and operate the Old Tyme Deli, Cigars & Wine, 4300 E. Sunset Road, Suite B-1.

Frank no longer has to sort bottles in the back room, but he did take his favorite aspects of the family business -- wine, cigars and running a deli -- and combined them to create his unique business.

The Semans moved to Henderson from Michigan with their three children a little more than a year ago. They opened the Old Tyme Deli about 10 months ago.

In Michigan, Frank was in the family grocery business, and Nancy, whose father was a meat broker in Michigan, also had worked in a family business atmosphere since the age of 7.

"We would come here every year for cigar and wine seminars," Frank said. "About two years ago, we decided to move here and get away from the cold."

When it came time to open the Old Tyme Deli, Frank's idea was to cut down on the number of services he was used to offering at a store.

"Instead of having everything, the grocery, pizza, wine and liquor and all of that, I want to concentrate on three items -- cigars, wine and the deli," he said. "I'm more about cigars and wine and sandwiches. I love to do these things. They are my favorite."

And at Old Tyme Deli, the business philosophy is all wrapped up in the name.

"We opened as a mom and pop place with our kids," Nancy said. "This is how I was brought up. It's how my dad had his business set up. I want to talk to my customers, I want to get to know them, and I put my heart and soul into everything I make, so you're getting the quality. I make a sandwich like I'm making it for my family."

All of the sandwiches and wraps at Old Tyme Deli start with about a half-pound of meat, and are then piled high with fixings. The menu boasts almost 30 specialty sandwiches and wraps. Nancy said that as long as she has the ingredients, she'll leave the menu behind to make customers whatever they want.

Frank said the deli's current best seller is the $9.95 Reuben, made with a hald-pound of hot corned beef on grilled rye bread with melted Swiss cheese, Russian dressing and sauerkraut.

Other favorites are the Italian sub, with ham, cappy, salami, provolone cheese, lettuce and tomato; and the Vegas chicken, made with Nancy's marinaded and grilled chicken breast, lettuce, tomato, Colby cheese and Ranch dressing on an onion roll.

Nancy also prepares meat, cheese, vegetable and sandwich trays and a honey barbecue or hot and spicy wings tray for catering. The Old Tyme Deli requires at least 48 hours notice for catering orders.

Frank and Nancy also sell the deli's lunch meats and cheeses -- all Boar's Head products -- and salads by the pound.

"There are no additives and no preservatives in Boar's Head products," Frank said. "If you're on a diet, this is the right place for you -- for meats and cheeses anyway. Maybe not so much for the cheesecake."

Nancy said the deli's baklava is brought in from Michigan, but many of Old Tyme Deli's treats, including chocolate-covered strawberries and connolis and the potato chips, are homemade.

The Old Tyme Deli stocks about 200 wines, which are sold by the glass or the bottle, and most are imported from Italy, France, Japan, Germany and Spain. Only about 10 percent of the wines sold at the deli are from California vineyards, though Frank said he does stock kosher wines.

"You can have beer or wine in the restaurant, but no cigars," Nancy said. "You can only have the cigars on the patio."

The cigars Frank stocks in the deli's 8-foot-by-20-foot humidor are all handmade in the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua, he said.

"We have Robusto, Churchill, Torpedoes," Frank said. "They vary from full-body cigars to medium, and we have about 50 cigars right now, but I'm going to expand some for more variety of cigars."

The Semans host cigar-tasting events from 5 to 7 p.m. every Wednesday and wine tastings from 5 to 7 p.m. every Thursday.

While Frank and Nancy said they are open to the idea of someday opening another location in another area of town, it won't happen anytime soon.

"People sometimes ask if we're a franchise, and we're not," Nancy said. "We have a small staff, and mainly it's just the two of us. I honestly can't open another location and just put it in someone else's hands."

The Old Tyme Deli is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For more information, visit www.oldtymedeli.com.