Episode 52
This is the Bluegrass Region Voices and Views podcast. I’m Tom Hailey.
This is where I spotlight places in the Lexington Kentucky area that someone new around here should know about. We have many local hidden treasures that could take you a long time to discover without being told about them.
Today you’ll learn about Dad’s Favorites Deli. This is a popular lunch spot among locals located in the Arcade Shops of the Garden Springs Shopping Center at 820 Lane Allen Road. The Arcade is a few doors down from Big Lots and Auto Zone.
The deli owner is James Caudill, also known as “Dad.” He refers to this off the beaten path location as their International Headquarters! His two sons joined the business after one got home from military service in Iraq and the other got his accounting degree from UK.
He began by setting up a small commercial kitchen in his home. They made cheese spreads which he sold at farmers’ markets. This led to Kroger selling his spreads which meant he needed a larger production facility. That’s how he ended up in the arcade. The plan was to just make cheese spreads in that location. Not to sell them there. This was all sometime around 2008.
But then things changed. His retail neighbors in the arcade knew what a great space he was in and encouraged him to make his products available for them and their customers to buy for lunch. Dad was good at experimenting with creating sandwiches for his family and friends with his cheese spreads complimenting the meats and breads. Then again, as they do, one thing led to another, and the result is the Kentucky Proud sandwich, soup, and cheese spread deli restaurant they are today.
When he set a table out in the hallway of the arcade on October 10th, 2010, the business took off. He began having 200 to 300 people come by for lunch each day. Before long there were more tables in the hallway, and they were all being used. Most business was To Go or Carry Out orders.
But, last year, 2023, Dad rented a large space in the arcade between the shoe repair shop and the laundry mat that can seat over fifty people and has restrooms and televisions. This is a comfortable space to relax and enjoy lunch and conversation. And to maybe make some new friends. Dad also uses it as a space for his catering business to host events. Their “delivered to you” catering business offers lunch bags, sandwich trays, salads, soups, chips, drinks, and cookies for a party of ten or more.
Dad’s Favorites Deli is open weekdays, Monday through Friday, from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.
Be sure to get a cheese spread to go. They have seven of them. I have a Smokey Pimento Cheese Spread in my fridge right now. I like its consistency or texture. These spreads are not watered or thinned down with too much mayonnaise or filler. It’s cheese. You can spread them onto a bun with your hot hamburger and they won’t melt and ooze off. It’s not a dip. It’s a spread. You probably need to experience it to understand.
I encourage you to check out their menu on their website and get on over there. If there is a long line, don’t walk away. Seriously, there could be fifty people in line. But they’ll have two kitchen lines going to fill the orders. It will move quickly, and they will bring your food out to you in the hallway or at your table.
Dad’s website is at www.dadsfavorites.com
I know you’ll enjoy going out around the Bluegrass Region and experiencing this hidden gem.
I took these pictures on a Saturday when Dad’s Deli was closed. The tables that are in the arcade during the week had been put away. They did have staff there probably producing the cheese spreads.
