Hi! Tell us about yourself and Applehead Deli. Hi! I’m Denis. I opened Applehead with my wife, Liz. It’s our little sandwich shop in the mean streets of Mentone. We churn out a lot of coffee and toasted sandwiches, bake most of our sweets in-house, and stock staples like milk, eggs, bread and coffee on our shelves.When you first came across that shop in Mentone, what inspired you to buy it, leave your jobs and start your own business? We were both in hospitality and imagined that we could eventually open our own place. Sandwich recipes were scribbled down on my phone and we’d chatter about it as we dozed off to sleep: a corner shop that’s in our constituency, somewhere away from a high street so that locals have somewhere to go without too long of a walk. 

Fast forward to three-and-a-half years ago. I was on my break and scrolling through Gumtree when a listing popped out at me. I picked Liz up from work and convinced her to come see the place. She was reluctant, but once we parked outside the shop, we knew it was the place we’d always talked about.What was the process of setting up shop like? It was a little daunting. We borrowed money from my grandma and knew that we would be knee-deep if it didn’t work out. We couldn’t conceptualise how much money we’d have to spend just to get the keys and then labour, materials and rent as time went on. We sourced materials like tiles on eBay and Facebook Marketplace. At the start, we were making do with what was at the premises already (which wasn’t much) but we made it work.

Tell us about your menu. If I was to use one word to describe it, I’d call it nostalgic. It’s loosely based on a New York-style deli menu. There’s a Reuben, a meatball roll, a chicken and pickle toastie, a spicy tuna melt (my favourite), a caprese ciabatta and a seasonal veg ciabatta. Almost everything is made in-house, including the sauces, pickles, marinades and sweets.What are some things to consider before jumping into your own food-selling gig? Hospitality can be a lot of fun when things are going well, but getting there takes knowledge, passion and dedication. Enjoying cooking or having a yarn with customers doesn’t mean that your business will succeed. They’re expensive to run – if you haven’t been in the industry as an owner before, the costs will likely come as a shock.

Like any business, your food business should be well thought out. Don’t assume that you’re going to be crazy-busy from the get go, and be ready to work without days off for a long time. Have a financial back-up plan. Do your costings. Make food your passion. Have a point of difference and go in there knowing you will treat your staff well. Applehead Deli’s Instagram account is full of fun video content. Was that a strategic choice, or did it happen naturally? It happened naturally. Once we got comfortable in our skin, we decided it’s OK to be ourselves. So instead of using Instagram to advertise, we started using it to communicate with our customers. We throw Reel ideas around as a team while we’re closing up and if there’s one that we all like, we’ll film it then and there. Our Instagram is a snapshot of our personalities and I think people appreciate that.

What do you love about running your own business? We love cooking. We love hosting. We love breaking boundaries between customers and staff, and making a place that isn’t just transactional. Seeing our staff grow. Seeing customers meet each other and become friends. Being creative and collaborative among our local community. What are some of your business goals? We’ve started baking canelés for the weekends, and if all goes well, we’ll start delivering and wholesaling them soon. Also, Liz is Armenian and hopes to open an Armenian eatery in the future. But for now, Applehead is our baby.

Have you had any mentors who’ve helped you along the way? I worked for Axil Coffee Roasters before opening our shop and they’ve helped us so much. Our parents are avid home cooks and two of them work in hospitality, so they’ve been there for us, too. Working in hospo, you meet so many people who are great at what they do. You take bits and pieces from different places you’ve worked at and you form your own style, so while they may not be mentors as such, there are definitely a lot of people who have influenced decisions we make and the way we work.For more small-business stories like this, visit frankie.com.au/strictly-business, or sign up to our monthly e-newsletter. Have a small-business story you’d like to share? Pitch it to us.