THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 27, 1995 TAG: 9501250209
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: E12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JANELLE LA BOUVE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
John Shirkey had been a building contractor for 18 years, and his wife, Teresa, had been a hair stylist for 10.
``Then we decided to give that all up and make the plunge,'' John Shirkey said.
In July, the couple opened the French Deli Cafe at Mount Pleasant Village.
``Many Battlefield restaurants won't deliver,'' he said. ``So we thought there was a need out here.''
They wanted the name of their cafe to be different and fresh - ``Something other than the regular old dry deli,'' Teresa Shirkey said.
Since sandwiches on French bread are their specialty, the name ``French Deli Cafe'' seemed natural.
The Shirkeys said the restaurant already has attracted a lot of return customers.
``That's what we wanted,'' she said. ``We get a lot of support from the teachers at both Butts Road Primary and Intermediate schools. Everyone says they hope we'll make it.''
That's the up side of the situation.
``The down side is we're not making any money,'' she added.
``We did really well before Christmas,'' John Shirkey said. ``We were all charged up.''
During the holiday season, Teresa Shirkey baked cakes and nearly 5,000 cookies from scratch. They used the cookies to fill holiday orders.
``We had Christmas day off. But the next day was slow,'' he said. ``We had set a pace, but after Christmas there was little to do.''
The delicatessen offers catering services and is available as a meeting place for groups.
The first time either of the Shirkeys had any experience in the food service business was when Teresa opened Supreme Cuisine, a fast food eatery inside City Hall Bingo in Virginia Beach. That was four years ago. Since the weekends-only business has been a success, the couple decided to try their hand at a restaurant in Chesapeake.
At the French Deli, John is the cook while Teresa bakes cakes to order.
John gives credit to his mother, whom he described as a great cook, for his interest in food preparation.
Breads at The French Deli Cafe come from Weiman's Bakery. The Snickers Bar Pie, Heath Bar Crunch Pie and four specialty cheesecakes come from Sweet Streets.
They serve hearty homemade soups and chowders, including a Cajun crab soup, Andouille pork sausage Cajun stew and clam chowder.
Other menu items include sandwiches on a choice of white, rye or wheat bread, a French roll or a croissant. The selection includes burgers, grilled cheese, chicken sandwiches and salads.
Sandwiches, which range from $2.95 to $5.95, are served with a generous portion of side salad.
``Initially, we had only sandwiches on our menu,'' Teresa Shirkey said. ``Now we're adding seven dinners plus a dinner special every night that's not on the menu.''
The dinners, which range in price from $6.95 to $8.95, include grilled tuna steak, marinated beef tips, grilled Andouille sausage, Delmonico steak, fried shrimp, grilled Italian sausage and cheese over rice and Cajun grilled chicken.
Both the Shirkeys laughed when asked what it was like to work with one's spouse.
``. . . It doesn't matter who's the boss, neither of us listens to the other,'' Teresa Shirkey joked. ``. . . John won't wear the chef's hat that I bought.'' MEMO: The French Deli Cafe is located at 1457 Mount Pleasant Road, Suite 104,
in Mount Pleasant Village. The phone number is 482-9717.
ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by STEVE EARLEY
John Shirkey and his wife, Teresa, own and operate French Deli Cafe
at Mount Pleasant Village. The restaurant offers delivery, catering
and meeting space.
by CNB