If you had stepped into Downtown Deli 21 years when it first opened, you might not realize the history you were witnessing. You might not realize that this simple sandwich shop would be the springboard from which Ryan and Leah McCarthy would grow their culinary domain. But there would be signs.
Ryan and Leah McCarthy are photographed at their restaurant in Old Town Bluffton.
If you looked closely, you could almost see, even back then, the glint of determination sparkling in their eyes. You could hear the buzz of excitement, of plans they were crafting even then for what this restaurant would become over the next five, 10, 15 years. As soon as you got your hands on one of their sandwiches, you’d taste the flavor that would propel this family forward to become Lowcountry mainstays.
“A question we get a lot is ‘How do you do it?’ We don’t really have a magical solution,” Leah said. “A lot of it has come with us not wanting to be stuck in who we were. I don’t like the word ‘pivot,’ but it’s about how we evolve.”
That evolution has been a constant during two decades in which the town around them has exploded. From their original location on Dr. Mellichamp Drive, they would seize the opportunity for a spot on May River Road when the old Piggly Wiggly closed down. The centerpiece of a beautiful refresh to an Old Town icon, their new location offered not only a slightly more sophisticated, urban vibe than the old spot, but it also created new opportunities for Downtown Catering to take off. In the open unit next to the deli, they opened Venue 1223, giving them a beautiful event space conveniently adjacent to their kitchen. For events farther away, they added their fabulous food truck, even as they began running catering operations off-site.
A family photo is taken on the last day in Downtown Deli’s original location, circa 2018.
It has been constant motion. Sure, there have been a few concepts along the way that we all wish could have continued on in the McCarthys’ constant evolution. (A moment of silence, if you will, for the greatness that was Monster Pizza.) But, by and large, it has been success stacked on success.
On the business side, the throughline in all this is clear: quality first.
“We’ve always kept the same consistent product and we’ve never skimped on the products we use,” Leah said. “People have to come to expect that consistency.”
But there’s business, and then there’s family business. How do the McCarthys juggle the constant demands of a restaurant with the obligations to one another and to their children? By knowing when to say when.
“This year our motto is ‘slow down to speed up.’ We’re putting the brakes on growth to really hone in on our systems. We’re taking on less business because we feel like we’re on the precipice of another explosion,” Leah said. “If we say ‘yes’ to something without knowing our process is tight, we’re going to crash and burn.”
Cutting the ribbon at the original location with Mayor Hank Johnson and Leah’s mom.
That means taking time off with one another and taking time with staff. Starting in 2020, when Leah was dealing with not only the devastating impact of Covid on the restaurant but also the loss of both parents, she and Ryan began to see their business in a new light.
“(The year) 2020 was obviously horrible, and in 2021 we had all the events and business come roaring back, on top of trying to keep up. We didn’t have time to sleep. We just looked at each other and said, ‘We’re exhausted’ and took off for two days,” Leah said. “We spent those two days just pouring into each other, talking about why we do this, how to sustain it, what we love about it. We knew we had to take care of each other first.”
With the couple reinvigorated and their love for their business rekindled, the next step was sharing that love with the staff. Starting in 2022, they began doing annual off-site retreats with the entire workforce, going on boat trips or golf cart scavenger hunts. These retreats soon turned into full-fledged getaways, this year taking the Downtown Catering staff up to the North Carolina mountains.
“We just shut down completely so we have that whole time to ourselves and let everyone enjoy each other,” Leah said. With her heartbreaking losses in 2020 at the front of her mind, Leah began offering paid mental health visits for staff. “If people aren’t able to show up, they’re not able to serve our customers,” Leah said. “Think about all the people who end up with substance abuse issues in this industry. It’s tough.”
They’ve also begun profit sharing with the staff, giving their workers a stake in the business after a year. It’s a clear sign that the McCarthys respect their employees, because they started in those same trenches, and still work them. That work ethic clearly rubbed off on son Aiden, who competed on Chopped Jr. and is now taking the soft skills he learned in the kitchen into the world.
“Aiden just got an internship with Raymond James and one of the biggest things they looked for was F&B experience,” Leah said. “They see that and they know you know how to deal with people and how to deal with high-pressure situations.”
And just because the McCarthys have reached what they call a “slow down to speed up” year doesn’t mean that their relentless drive has gone anywhere.
“We’re dangerous when we’re bored and we knew doing another restaurant was a bad idea,” she said. “So, Ryan and I decided to start working on a podcast called ‘In the Trenches,’ where we’re going to share a lot about lessons we’ve learned, from working together to owning a business.”
The podcast is currently in development (the first taping was a little rough but gave them the hunger to make it better) and will explore the unique dynamic that the couple has cultivated over 21 years of raising a family and running an empire.
“It was a way to create something new and bring some support to people who are in the same boat as we are,” Leah said. “We know a lot of husband-and-wife teams and it seems like everyone has a similar story.”
Look for the McCarthys’ podcast to drop sometime this year. Until then, swing by Downtown Deli in Bluffton, or Magnolia Cafe in Beaufort and enjoy 21 years of a family’s endless evolution.
