Chris Borchert/The Ubyssey

If you’ve popped into the Delly in the basement of the SUB for a sandwich, soup, salad or one of their many other lunch options, you’ve likely met the always-friendly Rajan. When I go into the Delly and say that I’d like to interview the person who runs the place, Nizar Rajan points to one of the other employees. The other employees all point to Rajan. Finally, he smiles and agrees.

If you’ve popped into the Delly in the basement of the SUB for a sandwich, soup, salad or one of their many other lunch options, you’ve likely met the always-friendly Rajan. He joined the Delly in 1992 as a manager and owner, though it’s been in the family since 1975 when his brother Zaher took it over.

The Rajans were born in Kenya, moved to Uganda and then lived in Rwanda. It was in Rwanda that Nizar and his brother got started in the restaurant business; they owned a combined restaurant, bar and cinema there. The cinema played movies every day, often American films dubbed over in French.

But the restaurant was a little different from the one he operates now.

“The embassies used to come have dinner there for their parties,” Rajan said. “When the King of Belgium came to Rwanda, the reception was held in my restaurant. The president of Tanzania came once.”

In 1974 Rajan left Rwanda and came to Canada. He says the restaurant is still there, though it doesn’t host many fancy receptions anymore. “There are so many [fancy] hotels now.”

The cinema, however, is gone. “All the videos and DVDs, you know,” Rajan said.

When Rajan arrive in Canada, he helped his brother buy the Delly from a previous owner, though that wasn’t his main occupation; he also started a store that sold leather jackets and other leather products.

In 1992, he closed the leather store and joined his brother as a full-time owner and manager of the Delly.

When his brother Zaher bought the store in 1975, the Delly was only selling submarine sandwiches. Zaher thought it could be so much more than that.

Today the Delly sells a very large assortment of fresh sandwiches, wraps, soups, salads and an assortment of pastries. Eight years ago they added curries to their menu, and they are always trying new ideas. Rajan says their best-selling products are still the simple ones: chicken and turkey sandwiches, and also the avocado greens sandwich.

Days in the Delly begin around 6am, when the staff show up to start making all of the sandwiches and wraps that will soon be on their shelves. Many of the Delly’s 12 staff have worked there for a very long time. “One just retired after 25 years,” Rajan said.

Rajan really enjoys operating a business on campus, and so he was very happy when the AMS recently told him that the Delly will have space in the new SUB. He’s hoping to move the business more heavily into organic foods. “Students are really into that organic, you know,” he said, “We’ve got so many ideas, but it’s so small in here, hopefully the new place [will be bigger].”

tWhat won’t change is the casual, happy atmosphere that students have come to expect from the Delly—even when they’re jam-packed into lineups during the Friday 3pm specials.

“The students are very friendly,” he says with his usual smile, “Meeting people, meeting all the professors…that’s what make it special.”

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