Popular Jackson deli reopens with community support

Editor's note: This story will appear in Monday's Southeast Missourian. All uses of "today" refer to Monday, Sept. 23, 2019.

Even as a child, Russell Amelunke had a knack for cooking, a knack which has led him to today’s reopening of the Jackson Deli, 437 W. Main in Jackson.

“I was always in the kitchen helping mom and grandma,” he said.

Russell Amelunke is reopening the Jackson Deli today. The deli is at 437 W. Main Street in Jackson.Jay Wolz ~ Southeast Missourian

By the time he was in high school, Amelunke’s interest in cooking and food preparation took him to the culinary program at the Career & Technology Center in Cape Girardeau, followed by Sullivan University in Louisville, Kentucky, where he studied professional catering.

In 2007, when he returned from Louisville, Amelunke took a job at Estes Deli, which was owned at the time by Alan Estes. The deli, located in a former Pizza Hut building, had a reputation as a favorite breakfast and lunch spot in Jackson.

Working at the deli, Amelunke continued to learn about the restaurant business, from food preparation and customer service to payroll and supplies.

“I worked side by side with Alan until he passed away in 2016,” Amelunke said. “He was a big mentor to me, and it was a shock to everybody when he died.”

Over the next couple of years, the deli changed names and ownership several times. Most recently it was the home of the Sassy Sisters restaurant, which closed late last year.

“When they closed up, it left a big hole in the community because so many people would come in on Saturdays with their families, sit down, chat and have a good time,” Amelunke said. “It was nothing formal here, just good food in a place where everybody felt comfortable.”

Amelunke left the deli after Estes’ death and worked at a couple of other jobs.

“But then I started running into old customers at places like the grocery store and they’d ask me why I didn’t open the deli back up,” he said. “I’m sure I heard that phrase 10,000 times.”

Even former co-workers, who knew how much Amelunke enjoyed working at the deli, encouraged him to help reopen the business and the building’s owners proposed leasing the empty restaurant to him so he could do so.

“With former customers telling me how much they missed it, I decided to go with what the town wants,” he said, adding reopening the deli is a tribute to Estes. “I’m happy to do it because he was a big mentor to me and taught me a lot.”

Starting today, Amelunke will assume the role of the Jackson Deli’s owner, operator, manager and “chief cook and bottle washer.”

“Pretty much that’s me,” he laughed.

The Jackson Deli is open from 5:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. six days a week, Mondays through Saturdays.

As for the menu, Amelunke said “we’re keeping it simple with all your normal breakfast items — eggs however you want them, toasted breakfast sandwiches, biscuits and gravy, pancakes and so forth for breakfast, and for lunch we’re serving hamburgers, deli sandwiches and daily specials every day.”

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