Walking into Sammy’s Gourmet Deli & Gyro, a newly-renovated deli right off of the Square, you will find a dream playing out behind the counter first-hand. Smoke rises from the fryer and gyro meat slowly crisps as owner Abdul Shami “Sammy” Mohammed artfully prepares sandwiches and wraps.
Adding to Oxford’s culturally rich and diverse food scene, Sammy’s Deli is a dream come true for Mohammed, who traveled to the U.S. from Yemen over three decades ago and began his foray into the food business. Mohammed started working in the deli business at 16 years old after leaving his home country of Yemen and landing in New York City in 1991. His early days in New York were very challenging, and he often worked 84-hour weeks all while speaking little English.
“They say in life, tough roads make good drivers,” Mohammed said. “Don’t sleep and think you are going to reach your dreams — you have to work.”
With hard work and time, Mohammed mastered English and the craft of sandwich-making while working at a Lebanese-Italian deli in New York City.
In 2001, Mohammed made the move to Mississippi and found work in multiple gas stations, including one that he now owns, the James Food Center. However, it has always been his dream to get back to where it all started and open his own deli shop.
Mohammed felt that Oxford was lacking a sandwich shop that had authentic gyros, falafel and Philly cheesesteaks, so he decided that he would be the change he wanted to see in the world.
“I haven’t seen anything (like that) around here, and it’s a college town with multinational people and people from everywhere. So it was my dream to find a good spot,” Mohammed said. “And hey, the chance came and the opportunity came, I said ‘Why not?’”
Working hard to achieve one’s dreams can often be grueling, but it is evident that Mohammed loves his job. His favorite thing about running the deli is meeting the different kinds of people that come to get a sandwich and asking them what they think about his food.
“I got a Philly cheesesteak and it was really, really good, and he asked how our food was, which was super sweet,” freshman mechanical engineering major Morgan Brown said. “Definitely great customer service.”
He hopes to grow Sammy’s and keep the deli open until 2 a.m. on weekends to provide late-night sandwiches for those on their walk home from the Square. In the future, Mohammed hopes to have the opportunity to expand his offerings to include traditional Yemeni food such as mandi, a specialty dish made of meat, rice and spices cooked in an underground oven.
