"Their name Deli Boyz tells exactly how it began: A bunch of boys in the deli. It was just a bunch of friends. We used to hang inside of a deli. We'd be rolling dice, doing normal stuff that kids do, Kopa says. The owner used to kick us out all the time. One day we just decided to ask him, Do you want to sell the store?' He said yeah."
"We just mix our culture with American culture and create diversity, Kopa says. We sell a lot of African food and a lot of soul food. We tap into different cultures. That flexibility is intentional. Rather than sticking to one national cuisine, Deli Boyz pulls from across West Africa and reworks dishes into something personal. For example, suya isn't really a Malian thing, it's more Nigerian and Ghanaian, but we brought it out and turned it into ours, Kopa explains."
Deli Boyz began when a group of friends who used to hang out in a neighborhood deli pooled money, purchased the store, and expanded by grilling lamb and shish kebabs outside. The operation grew into neighborhood staples in Harlem and the Bronx that blend West African flavors, soul food, and classic New York deli culture. The menu draws from multiple West African cuisines and adapts dishes into personalized versions. Offerings evolve through spontaneous experimentation rather than strict planning, producing popular items like a green sauce and a reworked suya that reflects cross-cultural culinary flexibility.
Read at www.amny.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]