The humble sandwich takes centre stage at the newly opened Snelly's Deli on Beaumont Street in Hamilton.
It is the brainchild of Andrew "Snelly" Snelgrove, who also owns and operates Son of a Gun Diner across the road with his wife Mara. The couple once owned and operated Fifi La Femme bakery and Lulu and Benson, a dog-friendly milk bar at the 71 Beaumont Street shopfront now occupied by Snelly's Deli.
Lulu and Benson's popular dog treats are still available online. The decision was made to close the shopfront because a "similar business opened nearby".
And yes, it's Snelly, not Andrew. It's been that way since he was a young boy growing up on a small island off the east coast of Canada.
"Before I met my wife - who is an excellent cook - everything I ate was a sandwich. It's so easy; you get some ingredients you like and you whack it in a piece of bread and voila, you've got yourself a meal," Snelly said.
"We get asked for sandwiches all the time at Son of a Gun and there's no place on Beaumont Street that does it.
"In the past there had been delis and sandwich shops where people could go and get a flash but basic item that's quick and relatively healthy and unique. But not now, and we saw it as an opportunity and decided to evolve the business at that location."
Snelly loves to experiment with the Canadian and American flavours he grew up with, for example, Montreal smoked meat.
"It's one of the only unique products that Canada produces, really, and now I know why more people don't make it," he says.
"It's delicious but it's very tedious to make.
"It's a brisket made from a tough, coarse cut of meat, rendered edible when it's cooked for a long time at a low temperature. It breaks up those fatty tissues and they become soft.
"As a brisket it's cured for approximately nine to 10 days, and then it's seasoned and smoked for anywhere from nine to 14 hours, depending on how big the brisket is. And after it's smoked, it's steamed to inject moisture into it so that it stays juicy."
Another childhood favourite he is adapting for Australian palates is the Dairy Cream "Blizzard". There's always something sweet on the menu at Snelly's Deli.
"We try to recreate those at the shop. It ends up being like an ultra-thick thickshake with a bunch of your favourite flavours all thrown it, it's awesome," Snelly says.
"And we've got this cheesecake range because I love cheesecake. I'm a sucker for pistachio gelato, I always rate a place on how good its pistachio gelato is.
"We decided to make a pistachio gelato cheesecake and it is full-on, I love it. There's nothing healthy about it and I love it, it's so good.
"There's a time and a place for unhealthy food and when I have it, I don't want to be pretending it's unhealthy, I want it to be full-on unhealthy."
On the healthier side, Snelly's offers take-home salads, freshly made sandwiches, hot soups and frozen yoghurt as well as a selection of take-home meals, coffee and shakes.
On Wednesdays you can take advantage of the $12 baguette deal. Snelly's Deli also offers a catering service.
Snelly likes to have a few pots on the boil at any given time.
"Mara and I are very hands-on with all aspects of our business, we've always been that way, and that means we can take notice of what's working and what's not," he explained.
"I'm very passionate about what I enjoy when it comes to food and flavours and how food can be aesthetically pleasing, because people really do eat with their eyes."
