Fady Abedalnour and Nick Dabit began working at the Polk and Green Produce Market nearly 20 years ago, when they were only 12 years old. They'd been enlisted by their fathers, a pair of brothers from Palestine named Sami and Mike, to help run the store.

A decade passed, and by the time Fady and Nick reached early adulthood, they'd grown tired of eating the same food available around the store. So they decided to open a deli, tucked away in the back of the market. 

The name? The Boys' Deli.

12 years later, the two are still going strong, happily cranking out hundreds of sandwiches each day. Offering nearly 40 specialty sandwiches, all freshly toasted, The Boys' Deli has become a favorite lunchtime spot for many in the neighborhood.

We caught up with Abedalnour the other day to ask him him about his craft, the neighborhood, and growing up in a family business.

Where are you from, and how did you get here?

Well, I'm a native San Franciscan, but my parents are from Palestine. They had plenty of stores before we came here, and this place started off as a grocery market with fruits and vegetables. We got a beer and wine license, then we got a liquor license, then we put the deli back here. Everything just came as the time went.

So when did the deli get started?

About 11 years ago.

Have you always been in charge of the deli?

Me and my cousin Nick, yeah.

Where did you learn how to make sandwiches?

I used to work at my uncle's Joe's pizza place, The Pizza Joint in the Inner Richmond. He taught me how to make sandwiches there. Then we just got sick of eating pizza and burgers in this neighborhood, so we decided to put a deli in the back of the liquor store.

Do you like working in this neighborhood?

I love it. The people are really generous; they've seen me grow up, so they're really familiar with my face. They know my dad, and they've always been really nice to him. The liquor store has a community feeling to it.

How old were you when you started working here?

I was 12 years old. It's been a minute! I'm 32 now.

How has the neighborhood changed in that time?

A lot more single people. A lot more bars have opened up, which is good for us, obviously. When we first opened up, there were a lot more elderly people in the neighborhood, and that's when the shop was more of a fruits-and-vegetables type of place. Then, as the elderly people left the neighborhood, more young people moved in, and it started to get more of a Union Street feel. Now it's more like a party street, kind of.

Tell us a little about the evolution of the sandwich shop itself.

When we first started, we weren't expecting it to be as busy as it's become, but that's a good thing. It was really slow for the first maybe two years, but me and my cousin kept at it and kept doing it, passing out flyers. Word of mouth helped a lot. 

Did it always have the same name?

Yup, always called The Boys' Deli. Then, over time people started hearing about us and coming in.

Did you invent all the sandwiches?

Yup, me and my cousin invented every single one. 

Which is the best one?

The San Franpsycho. 

Why is that one so good? 

I don't know. The combination of the honey turkey, the bacon, the garlic spread, the remoulade sauce ... it's almost everybody's favorite one. 

How many sandwiches do you sell a day?

Between 150 and 200. 

Damn! Just you and your cousin make that many?

Me and him and another employee, yeah.

The Sandlot: rotisserie chicken, hot coppa, pepper jack, pesto, bell pepper, remoulade, avocado. (Photo: Courtesy of The Boys' Deli)

You know, sometimes it gets stressful working with family, and sometimes it's not. It's a good thing and it's a bad thing. But growing up in a store in this neighborhood actually made me grow, and see that other people have families and grow with their families. It's a community-type feeling—it's not like a regular liquor store, where people just come wandering in. Everyone here knows your name. It's like the show Cheers. My brother has a liquor store too, with the same menu as us, at Lombard and Lyon.

Are you and your cousin planning on taking over the business?

Yeah. In the next couple of years, my dad's looking to retire. We'd run the whole store and the deli.

What separates a good sandwich from a mediocre one? 

I'd say the quality of the meat is really important, the quality of the bread is really important, and the freshness of the vegetables. And of course, toasted sandwiches. People want toasted sandwiches. All of our sandwiches are toasted unless requested otherwise.

Why do you think you guys are so popular?

I think we're one of the first liquor stores that had a really, really good sandwich place in there. People just started finding out about us. There are other liquor stores that have delis in them, but like I said, the people around here are really talkative. So they told their friends, and their friends told their friends, so I think that's the main thing that's helped us out.

To order sandwiches from The Boys' Deli, you can call ahead at (415) 776-3099. The deli is open at 10am daily, closing at 7:30pm Monday-Thursday, 6:30pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and 5:30pm on Sundays.