Deli Delicious builds bakery in Fresno as franchise expands

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Customers can't seem to get enough of Deli Delicious. The sandwich chain has now built its own bakery in Fresno to keep up with demand.

At Deli Delicious in Fresno's Tower District, popular sandwiches are created daily. Ingredients like pastrami, salami, pepperoni, and cheese are then piled onto a loaf of fresh bread.

"We've been serving their bread since we opened and it is awesome. It's really, really good," said Alex Petroysan, Deli Delicious franchisee.

Now that bread is being made locally at Deli Delicious' new bakery in Northwest Fresno.

"Three years ago we decided to, in order to help our growth, to continue and guarantee the supply chain to our franchisees, that we needed to have a bakery of our own," said Ali Nekumanesh, Deli Delicious Executive Vice President.

Company officials gave us an inside look the $2 million state-of-the-art bakeries before its grand opening.

"Good bread is all about fermentation, so all of the breads have longer fermentation than your typical white bread or your typical white hamburger bun," said Kevin O'Connell, bakery consultant.

About ten employees were hired to help jump-start the operations from start to finish. Eventually they'll make a variety of bread, but for now, they're focused on four varieties from white wheat.

"From mixing to baking is about five to six hours right now. And then it goes in to... we flash freeze it immediately and ship it out to the stores."

Deli Delicious is the only quick service restaurant to start its franchise in Fresno. Company officials say their recipe for success begins with the food.

"It starts with quality ingredients that Deli Delicious has offered for over 25 years to its customer base and we haven't swayed from that," said Nekumanesh.

A brand that from Bakersfield to Sacramento is growing.

The Tower District marks the 53rd location for Deli delicious. Another location will open in Lathrop this summer. As customers appetites increase, Deli Delicious hopes to expand.