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Rotations Deli

New business to offer rotating specials

Co-owner of Rotations Deli Cliff Jacobson garnishes The Emily, pulled pork tacos with a cilantro and lime relish, topped with cheese, green onion, cilantro and arugula. (Journal photo by Trinity Carey)

MARQUETTE — Tucked between Marquette Wallpaper & Paint and Remie’s Bar on South Third Street sits Rotations Deli.

The deli, located in the former Queen City Barber Shop at 113 S. Third St. in Marquette, features a variety of food options such as gyros, bacon corn dogs, pork tacos, pastrami sandwiches, philly cheesesteaks and falafel.

While it’s pick up only — because there’s no room to dine in — customers will enjoy the banter between father and son owners Jed and Cliff Jacobson while they wait for their food.

After spending years in the restaurant industry working for other people, Cliff decided it was time to open a place of his own.

Four years ago, he and his father began looking for the right location in town to call their own, and two years ago they purchased the Marquette Wallpaper & Paint and current Rotations Deli property.

While Cliff originally planned on a larger space big enough to allow customers to dine-in, he ultimately decided a smaller space was a better way to let the town try his food.

Jed will tell you the deli gets its name from the spinning of a gyro machine, but Cliff assures it’s because in the next month or so he plans to have a rotating weekly special.

“It won’t be like the simple, easy ham and cheese,” Cliff said. “It’ll be more complex and weird, follow the seasons and stuff.”

As to what sort of food customers can expect, Cliff said it will just be food he enjoys cooking and can put his own spin on. He’s gathered plenty of ideas in his 13 years of cooking at restaurants in Ann Arbor as well as at Coco’s and Stucko’s Pub & Grill here in Marquette. He’ll gather new ideas from traveling, trying new foods and talking with customers to see what they would be interested in.

“It’s a lot easier to do whatever we want, especially for specials,” Cliff said. “When they start, it’s only a week, so if it’s bad, who cares — there will be another good one next week.”

So far, the business owners’ biggest challenge has been figuring out how to put a kitchen in such a small space. Due to ventilation, all the appliances are electric instead of gas and the space has some clever design elements to save space such as pull out cold bain drawers.

“We worked with RG Design Co. and spent months trying to figure out just how much stuff we could cram in here, what we could make fit, what equipment,” Cliff said.

Through it all, Cliff is working out how to best serve his food and so far it has been well received by customers.

“We’re still just figuring out what we can do and what we can’t do and how to do things, but we’ll get there,” Cliff said. “I just want to feed people. I hope they love it. I hope they find it’s something different and unique in Marquette, where the selection isn’t always the greatest.”

Rotations Deli is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. To view the menu, visit Rotations Deli on Facebook and to call ahead and pick up an order, call 906-273-0639.

Trinity Carey can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 206. Her email address is tcarey@miningjournal.net.

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