Classics with a twist at Dock Street Deli, downtown Tacoma’s newest sandwich shop
Below The Henry apartments, West of the Waterway at 1901 Dock St. has been operating as an events venue for a few years. Starting on March 30, it also will house a deli with ample views of the East 21st Street Bridge from its floor-to-ceiling windows.
To start, Dock Street Deli will operate 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., serving a menu of classics and custom creations.
“Right now in Tacoma, you can go to certain places and just get your basic sub, or you can go to other places and get out-of-the-box sandwiches — our goal is to kind of have both,” said co-owner Adrielle Flinders.
The in-progress menu will include deli mainstays like a turkey sandwich and a pastrami sandwich. Diners also can build their own sandwiches, “so if people just want that hoagie-meat-cheese, they can get that as well,” said Flinders. Non-traditional sandwiches highlighting Pacific Northwest ingredients also will play a role.
On Instagram, Dock Street has shared a few experiments, including pastrami with wasabi mustard, an Asian kale slaw and Swiss cheese on a pretzel bun; turkey, bacon, tomato, sprouts and an avocado aioli on sourdough; and a “nutty” teriyaki chicken salad with dill mayo, pineapple and honey-roasted peanuts on rye.
Salads will follow that same classic-to-creative path, as in a Caesar versus a strawberry and rhubarb salad tossed with mint and crushed hazelnuts.
Flinders wants the new deli to satisfy all sandwich lovers, while “dialing in on what will set us apart and make our customers keep coming back.”
Eventually, that could entail bagel sandwiches and maybe a breakfast burrito. A full coffee bar, with beans from a to-be-determined roaster, will serve standard drinks.
As for the essential part of sandwiches: “We’re still looking — still searching for the perfect bread because it is so important.”
TACOMA RESTAURANT LEGACY
The lifelong Tacoman is a longtime hospitality pro. Flinders worked for Ron Galucci at his namesake catering company for many years as his “right-hand man.” Two years after his unexpected death in 2013, Galucci’s wife Treia sold the business to Flinders, her husband Jeff and her father Kris Manke.
Manke is no longer involved with the catering company, but as of July 2018, he co-owns The Spar with his other daughter, Rena Manke, and the Flinders. The Old Town pub has been in their family for decades, led for 30 years by Kathy Manke, Adrielle Flinders’ grandmother. Taking it back even further, her mother Debbie Brese still runs The Cloverleaf in Tacoma’s West End, which Flinders’ grandfather Lennard Manke bought in 1971.
Brese and Kris Manke also operated the Planet Burrito franchise before selling it to business partners.
Whew.
Now, Flinders is really starting to spread her wings. Along with her husband, she will run Dock Street Deli with Vern and Brad Wilkinson.
The ties don’t stop there: Vern Wilkinson worked for Ron Galucci at his first deli more than 20 years ago, and her husband, a chef, also bartended at Galucci’s catering events for years.
“It’s full-circle Tacoma — I love it!” said Flinders.
All of this experience will channel into Dock Street Deli, which originated from an idea to use the waterfront space for events, including live music and pop-up restaurants.
In the future, the deli will stay open later for happy hour and possibly to coincide with the free museum days on the third Thursday of every month. Nor is Saturday breakfast ruled out.
Summer days will further entice visitors: “You feel kind of like you’re in a destination,” said Flinders. “You’re down there, you see the yachts, the water, but then you’re in downtown Tacoma. During the summer, we’ll have that patio furniture out and that’s when it’s gonna all make sense.”
*This story has been updated to reflect a new opening date. Originally, Dock Street Deli was scheduled to open March 23; it will now open March 30.
DOCK STREET DELI
▪ 1901 Dock St., Tacoma, 253-324-4427
▪ Target opening Monday, March 23
This story was originally published March 4, 2020 at 5:00 AM.