The smell of fresh bagels paired with the image of packed aisles and lines out the door are familiar to every GW student who enters the GW Deli. Those hallmark sights and sounds are celebrating 80 years on campus this year. 

Most GW students have come to regard a GW Deli bacon, egg and cheese as a weekend essential, whether it’s needed to satisfy a craving, get over a rough hangover or just to grab breakfast with friends — the deli has endured eight decades of Foggy Bottom and GW history, while other businesses have come and gone. While students are familiar with the deli’s sandwich and snack offerings, they might not know its history as what Owner John Ambrogi calls an “American family story.”

Ambrogi said because his father lived through the Great Depression and World War I, his family elected to save money and invest it into the business that would come to make its mark on the GW community.

“He was an amazing businessman, a very smart man,” Ambrogi said. “He loved people, it was part of the reason he opened up this business. He loved people and he loved the business. And I kind of took over his dream — almost accidentally — I thought I was only going to be here a few years.”

After his father purchased the store, Ambrogi said his dad added a deli and sandwich counter, which would eventually become the reason for the infamous lines forming out the door. He said the location within GW has been, and continues to be, important to the business’ success in building a clientele and that a hush falls over the shop when students leave for the summer.

“It just got better and better through the years as the University grew and some of the federal government grew as well, which we could get some business from as well, but mostly GW by far,” Ambrogi said. All businesses here in Foggy Bottom — it’s all about GW.” 

Ambrogi said after graduating from George Mason University in 1982, he decided to work at the deli for his father while figuring out his next career move, but the career he found at the deli stuck. Working in the deli was a family affair — he said his two older brothers helped run the store, along with his mother, who worked the kitchen, and with his father, Leo Ambrogi. 

Ambrogi said his mother retired in 2003, and his father passed away in 2004. He added that his son, Matt, has now worked alongside him for about 11 years and that he considers him the “engine” of the business, as he works at the cash register, stocks products, does paperwork and interacts with customers. 

“He doesn’t make any sandwiches, but he does just about everything else.” Ambrogi said.

Ambrogi said the fact that his father owned the building was “instrumental” to the business’ continued success because now he does not have to negotiate with landlords over increasing rent prices.

“We’re very lucky that way, lucky to have a great location, lucky that he bought it when he did,” Ambrogi said.

Ambrogi said the main reason the business has been stable for 80 years is its reliable employees, some of whom he said have been working day in and day out for over 20 years. He said the staff must know the recipes and pricing for the extensive menu. 

Ambrogi added that he has had a “wonderful clientele” over the years that is great to speak to when they pop in, ranging from students and professors to State Department employees.

“I don’t know what the secret is,” Ambrogi said. “It’s location first and foremost, but I guess we just got a niche here with the University, right?” 

Ambrogi said products the deli carries have changed over the years as consumer tastes have changed and new items have emerged, including a surge of “power bars” and energy drinks, like Celsius and Monster Energy, becoming top sellers. Of all the products that jam the shelves of the store, he said, the deli’s staple — its sandwiches — haven’t changed one bit in 80 years as the Ambrogis continue to prioritize high quality meats and ingredients.

“There are so many different grades of bacon, and we always get the one of the top quality ones, and we put a good portion on there,” Ambrogi said.

Today, students have the options of products like instant ramen bowls, tins of rolled wafers, Clif Bars and bottles of Brisk lemonade that line the shelves, waiting for students to decide which option suits their fancy.

Sophomore Ammanuel Akele said he started off this school year by going to the deli on a consistent basis after moving. He said he did not realize how long the business has been a part of Foggy Bottom.

“I just get the turkey bacon, egg and cheese on an everything bagel, extra egg and less bacon, because they always put a lot,” Akele said.

Senior Stephen Garvey said he started to go to the deli his sophomore year after seeing long lines of students waiting outside, and now he typically goes on Saturdays to get a sausage, egg and cheese sandwich on a sub roll.

“It’s part of the campus culture, sometimes we’ll get up on a Saturday morning, and we’ll wait in line for an hour at times,” Garvey said.

Ambrogi said he is aware of the long lines students encounter when they are craving a bagel sandwich on a Saturday morning. He said he wished he could do something to tackle slimming down the lines, but if he added one more employee in the kitchen to the “perfect amount” he already has, it would most likely slow down operations. 

“We have our detractors, like any business,” Ambrogi said. “We can’t please everybody.”

He said he gets to know the more extroverted students who are regulars as well as the new crop of students that enter GW each year, making for a microcosm of community at the University.

“This type of place is the kind of place where you can come in a couple times a day, and you can come in and feel relaxed about coming in two or three times, getting some coffee and a snack, getting your lunch, stopping and getting drinks or grabbing something real quick,” Ambrogi said.