By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Steven Sterling was inspired by Taco Bell — or at least seeing the stream of college students, often inebriated, who patronized the chain restaurant in the early morning hours on weekends.
He lived across the street and wondered if he could tap into that market. Maybe he could start a hot dog stand right in his front yard.
The city regulations put a kibosh on that plan, but the Bowling Green State University grad’s idea did not die.
The dream even withstood Gene Poor’s advice to his BGSU entrepreneurship class — don’t get into the restaurant business. The scenario described by Poor was “a nightmare,” he remembers.
Sterling took lots of notes.
That was 10 years ago. Sterling, a 2007 Elmwood graduate, was majoring in aviation flight technology and operations. After some time in the industry, he switched to driving a truck.
Still the idea of feeding people stuck with him. “Business has always been in the back of my mind,” Sterling said. “It was just waiting for the opportunity, the timing, and money to all line up.”
Now they have. He and his wife, Danielle, have opened Sterling’s Amish Deli at 133 E. Wooster St.
“I always knew Steven would have a plan to have his own business,” Danielle (Holzwart) Sterling said.
The opportunity came knocking when they learned Lori Hanway was planning to close the Taste of Amish deli at that location.
Danielle said she knew that there was a demand for the pies and other Amish delicacies the eatery sold.
So they seized the opportunity to “to keep the Amish thing alive” and bring their own style to the restaurant and market.
That includes hot dogs, all beef, seven styles of them. It also includes adding a deep fryer for hand cut French fries and onion rings and a grill.
Getting the proper electrical service into the building delayed the opening.
Steven did much of the renovation aiming to create “a friendly cozy upbeat feel,” his wife said.
The menu includes seven varieties of burgers as well as deli sandwiches.
They queried their friends and added the “Garbage Can” and “Dag Wood” sandwiches. Each packed with a heaping selection of the meat found in the deli counter. They’ve also carried over “The Notorious BLT” that includes six ounces of bacon.
They use Troyer in Millersburg for all their meats, and the other products sold in the store.
Last week the pies started coming in as well as some of the candy.
The shop will stock jams, jellies, canned fruits, jerky, and other Amish specialties. And the meat and cheese can be purchased at the deli counter as well.
“All made with natural, basic ingredients,” Steven Sterling said.
Another key ingredient is Danielle. She greets customers and takes their order. A 2008 graduate of Bowling Green High School, she described herself as “a people person.”
She studied nursing at Owens Community College, and worked in the field for a while including with her family’s home health business.
Of late, though, she’s been home with the couple’s 9-year-old son and a new baby.
The restaurant is like another baby, she said.
Danielle’s presence at the counter taking orders and getting to know customers is a key to the operation. “And she’s awesome at it,” her husband said.
“She can be your best friend within minutes of meeting you, and she can talk to a rock for hours,” Steven said.
“I love the connections and relationships you form with people, who come in and return,” she said. “You really get to know people especially in a town like Bowling Green.”
Steven said that the shop aims to get people served within eight minutes.
That was a challenge when they opened about two weeks ago. They were “slammed,” he said. Surprising, he noted, because students had not returned to campus yet.
They were still in the process of hiring and had to call in friends for help. They decided to close early one day rather than risk customers coming in and having a bad experience.
So far the online reviews have been positive,Danielle said.
Now they have more staff.
For now they are open Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.
They are still adding workers so they can extend their hours and serve the after-bar-hours crowd Steven watched from his window while he hatched his vision of a business of his own.
