New owner at popular Palmer eatery mixes fresh ideas with familiar fare

PALMER — New Palmer Downtown Deli owner Kevin Brown wants the restaurant’s loyal customer base to know a couple of things: the Dagwood isn’t changing and the antique brass espresso machine will return.

While a changing of the guard in the restaurant business can often bring anxiety for customers and staff, Brown said Friday the deli’s well-known offerings like sandwiches and gelato will be bolstered in a few new areas — both inside and outside the kitchen — that he thinks patrons will enjoy.

“The Dagwood is the best-selling sandwich of all time,” Brown said of the hoagie named after comic strip character Dagwood Bumstead.

The classic sandwich — piled high with ham, turkey, roast beef, Swiss cheese, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo and deli mustard on a hoagie bun — is a menu item Brown said will stay the same.

“We have had many customers come in and say, ‘You can do what you want with the menu. Just don’t touch the Dagwood.’”

Plans for the espresso machine — a popular selfie spot in the restaurant — call for a complete refurbishment, Brown said.

“There will be a triumphant return for the espresso machine,” he said.

Brown, who took over of the restaurant April 1 from former owners Richard and Colleen Stryken, is a former Palmer City Council member who also was the communications manager for Matanuska Electric Association. He currently owns a marketing and political consulting business along with the restaurant, which is located in the Downtown Palmer Plaza at 550 S. Alaska St.

“I am one of those people who have tended to reinvent myself in some new aspect of my career,” said Brown, who grew up on a Missouri farm.

He said one of the bigger kitchen changes is the expansion of the baking program, which reflects his love of the craft.

“Baking is a joy of mine and we are finding that the staff enjoys it as well,” Brown said, adding that he learned to cook at an early age.

“My mother is an amazing baker and ran bakeries and delis for years and insisted that one of her three children was going to learn how to cook,” he said. “When I was a kid my favorite place was right beside my mother watching her cook and she taught me everything.”

Brown said the baking program is already paying dividends, with one particular pastry getting quite a bit of attention.

“People have been putting our cannoli-making days on their calendars,” Brown said. “If we put out 100 cannolis, we will sell 100, if we put out 500, we sell 500. We can’t keep them. We are even experimenting with a three-inch, mini-cannoli as opposed to the usual five-inch long variety so people can buy several flavors.”

Brown said he has tried not to push in too many directions at once with the restaurant “because I don’t want to throw too many things at the kitchen.”

“I want to make sure that the customers are coming along for the ride,” Brown said. “Everything we are doing is coming with so much customer feedback.”

A couple of examples on that feedback have come with existing menu items — the Cuban sandwich and salads — that Brown said he has changed up a little.

“We have updated the salads — Palmer is a salad-eating town,” Brown said. “The Cuban has been on the menu here for years and was normally ham and roast pork loin. We partnered with Arkose Brewery and used their steed rye to braise pork shoulders for between eight and 12 hours. It was an incredible addition to the sandwich. Sales have tripled.”

Along with the menu changes, Brown said June will bring the transfer of a beer and wine license. He added that there also was interest in making the restaurant a live music venue.

“I see a big future in gourmet pizza with wine and beer on Fridays and Saturdays,” he said. “There also is a need for a casual wine bar kind of place to go and have a drink and an appetizer after work.”

Brown said the dream of restaurant ownership goes back a while.

“I’ve had friends ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, and here we are,” Brown said. “What has prepared me for this is a background in PR and business management. It is all about telling a good story and making sure that your customers are happy. With an open kitchen, the staff has to be top-notch and they are. It’s a good team.”

Contact reporter Steven Merritt at 352-2269 or steven.merritt@frontiersman.com