. Annie’s Deli in Pluckemin (Bedminster), New Jersey, has been making sandwiches for 40 Years, and… a Final Goodbye came, and the doors closed for good.
Where else could you order a Dr. Jazz, a Junk Yard Dog, a Tooth Fairy, or a Cat on a Hot Tin Roof? At Annie’s Deli in Pluckemin, every sandwich came with a little local history.
Some places are sandwich shops; others, like Annie’s Deli in Pluckemin, New Jersey, made ordering lunch feel like attending a neighborhood reunion. The menu wasn’t simply a collection of meats, cheeses, and condiments. It was a who’s who of local personalities, pilots, police officers, schoolteachers, family members, pets, and a few characters whose stories were probably better told over a sandwich.
After 40 years of serving the community, Annie’s Deli has announced that October 24, 2026, will be its final day. Rumor has it that it is being forced to close “due to new fire codes and the age of our building.”
Customers will certainly miss the sandwiches, but what makes this closing especially meaningful is the remarkable collection of local memories Annie’s helped preserve. Because at Annie’s, even the sandwiches had a history.
Before Annie, There was Emily Beer Stine: Pluckemin’s Sandwich Artist
In 1983, Emily Beer Stine served up more than sandwiches behind the deli counter at her father, Jack Stine’s, Colonial Liquors in Pluckemin, New Jersey. She served local personalities, humor, and a menu filled with sandwiches named after familiar faces around town.
A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, with a bachelor’s degree in ceramics and sculpture, Emily also held a master’s degree in art therapy from Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia. She brought that artistic creativity to the deli counter, transforming ordinary sandwiches into edible tributes to Pluckemin residents, business owners, and even her own cat, Darla June. Yet despite creating a menu celebrating everyone around her, she never named a sandwich after herself.
Source: Bernardsville News.
Her creations included the Big Max, named for local realtor Max Spann; Valley Boys, honoring the employees of Valley Pharmacy; Tooth Fairy, named for Far Hills dentist Dr. Jeff Pike; and The Fenwick, celebrating Congresswoman Millicent Fenwick. Other favorites included Mt. St. Helens, a spicy Italian creation; Luba Potamkin, which Emily jokingly hoped might earn her a Cadillac; and Dr. Jazz and Jake the Brain Surgeon, both named after her father.
Local History
Long before Annie’s Deli became a beloved Bedminster landmark, the business was known as Burnt Mills Deli, named for a historic colonial milling community once called Bromley. Established along the Lamington River in the mid-1700s, Bromley grew into a bustling center of mills, farming, commerce, and transportation. During the Revolutionary War, the mills even served as a supply stop for provisions headed to George Washington’s Continental Army at Morristown. Local legend claims British troops burned the mills during the war, but historical research has found no evidence to confirm it. We do know the mills burned sometime between 1781 and 1807, leaving a name that has survived for more than two centuries in Burnt Mills Road and the original Burnt Mills Deli, later renamed Annie’s Deli.
Robert Erskine was General Washington’s mapmaker during the Revolutionary War. His map shows how close the Burnt Mill was to what began as the Burnt Mills Deli, later renamed Annie’s Deli in Pluckemin.
So Who Was Annie?
Here’s something that might surprise longtime customers: Annie wasn’t the founder. After operating the Burnt Mills Deli for several years, Emily sold the business to Diane Calabrese, who moved the operation from the liquor store into a rented 1820s building behind it, where the business still rents the property to this day.
- Annie was the third owner, purchasing the original Burnt Mills Deli from Diane Calabrese somewhere around 1987,
- Her son, Spencer, was honored with the Spencer’s Special sandwich and also ran the deli for a few years after he graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
- She sold the business before 1994, when Roman and Nick Hnidj took ownership after Mike and Bob Bashahd owned it in the interim.
Annie renamed the business Annie’s Deli, introduced several of her own sandwiches, and wisely kept Emily’s original creations. The Deli subsequently passed briefly through the ownership of Mike and Bob Bashahd before Roman and Nick Hnidj purchased it in 1994.
Roman and Nick had previously operated a bakery, which explains another beloved part of the Annie’s experience: homemade cookies, desserts, salads, and other treats. Nick retired in 2009, while Roman and Patty kept the business running. Through all those changes, one thing remained remarkably consistent: the sandwich menu, which had become something of a local historical document.
The Sandwich Hall of Fame: You Can’t Make These Names Up
Perhaps the best thing about Annie’s menu was that many sandwiches were named after real people. Not celebrities. Not fictional advertising mascots. Real people who lived, worked, flew airplanes, taught school, and occasionally wandered into the Deli looking for lunch.
Take Dr. Jazz, for example. Emily’s father, Jack Stine, named this roast beef sandwich with horseradish cheese and Tiger sauce after himself. Dr. Jazz was one of his nicknames, and the family story even mentions his personalized license plates.
Then there was Big Max, named after local real estate personality Max Spann. When Emily later had a son named Max in 1985, the sandwich took on a second family connection. Patricia Ryan, another real estate professional in Max Spann’s office, also made the menu. Apparently, selling houses and getting sandwiches named after you went hand in hand in Pluckemin.
The Somerset Airport Crowd
Pluckemin’s aviation community was especially well represented. Al Schillberg was a tow pilot at Somerset Airport. Emily joked that she couldn’t name sandwiches after the other airport personalities and leave Al out, or he might tow her into a hangar wall. Danny Walker was another Somerset Airport personality. Carleton Sue Rehr was a pilot and Lou Rehr’s wife, a World War II hero and accomplished aviator. Naturally, both Carleton and Lou earned sandwiches. Imagine a deli where the local pilots were as famous as the sandwiches named after them.
The Cops, Doctors, and Schoolteachers
Chopper One honored Ray Haines, who managed the liquor store and had previously worked as a police officer. His nickname, Chop the Cop, inspired the sandwich. Gary Cummings was a Bedminster police officer and regular customer who later became police chief. Doc Walsh was the local veterinarian, remembered as Emily’s friend and a familiar face at the Deli. Miss Malley was Emily’s kindergarten teacher at Hamilton School in Bridgewater. Now that’s a nice way to remember someone who helped start your education. Monroe Ballentine operated the gas station across the street and was another neighborhood personality who earned a place on the menu. Even Lloyd Hess, the liquor store and deli accountant, was immortalized between two slices of deli. Who says accountants don’t get any recognition?
The Family, the Pets, and the Really Strange Names
Some of the funniest stories belonged to sandwiches with little to do with the town’s business community. Annie named Darla June after Emily’s (Emily Stine Pike) cat, which she persuaded her to adopt as a supposedly young stray. The surprise? The cat was actually fully grown and pregnant.
Mrs. Terwilleger was another cat, this one Annie’s. Little Jack honored Emily’s son Jack, named after his grandfather. Spencer’s Special was named after Annie’s son Spencer: Joe PalooSpecialred, Annie’s husband, Joe. Suzy Wong was Emily’s best friend in childhood. Then there’s Tame Me Amy, named after Emily herself because someone misunderstood her name.
And don’t forget Yard Good, perhaps one of New Jersey’s greatest accidental sandwich names. Emily’s grandmother couldn’t remember the surname Grunwald, Emily’s first husband’s surname, and called him Yardgood instead. The nickname stuck. You couldn’t invent a better story.
A Dentist, a Horse, and a First Fork
Two other sandwich names deserve special attention. Tooth Fairy was named in honor of Emily’s husband, a dentist. He also inspired the sandwich called Kindly Old Doc Pike. And then there’s First Fork, one of the menu’s most wonderfully peculiar names.
After leaving the deli business, Emily owned a horse and helped offset boarding expenses by cleaning stalls early each morning. Her barn nickname became First Fork, and Annie eventually named a sandwich after her. From art therapy to sandwiches to shoveling horse manure, Emily certainly had an interesting career path.
Not Every Sandwich Was Named After a Person
Some names were too good to pass up. Colonel Mustard drew inspiration from the classic Board game Clue. Jaws was, appropriately enough, a tuna sandwich named after the famous shark movie. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was another tuna creation, inspired by the well-known film title. Baby Snooks came from an old radio program one of theDeli’ss regulars enjoyed. Ray Kroc was Annie’s take on an Egg McMuffin, named after the McDonald’s founder. And Junk Yard Dog, loaded with turkey, ham, bacon, Muenster cheese, coleslaw, and Russian dressing, became one of theDeli’ss most celebrated sandwiches.
Even the giant subs carried local connections. Big Larry was a local contractor, Mr. DeFalco was Emily’s former landlord, Mean Jean was a deli employee who wasn’t actually mean, and Tiny the Giant was a particularly tall, gentle regular. The menu was practically a neighborhood directory, except this one came with pickles.
“Sadly, as we’re identifying all the great sandwich names, there never was a sandwich created with Annie’s name.”
More Than Just Sandwiches
Over the decades, Annie’s became known for far more than its unusual menu. The bakery experience that Roman and Nick brought to the business helped establish a reputation for homemade desserts, cookies, and salads. Catering became another important part of the operation.
But what really made Annie’s Special was its connection to the community. The deli specialized in stories that might otherwise disappear: a pilot at Somerset Airport, a local veterinarian, a schoolteacher, a gas station owner, an accountant, and countless family connections.
Think about it. How many businesses can say that their menu documents the people who helped shape the surrounding neighborhood? In a small but meaningful way, Annie’s was preserving Pluckemin history long before anyone thought to call it a historical project.
The Last Chapter: October 24, 2026
The farewell announcement displayed at Annie’s carried the heading “The Last Chapter.” It reflects on four decades of serving the community and thanks customers for their support, friendships, and memories. The message also announces that theDeli’ss final day will be Saturday, October 24.
For longtime customers, the closing means more than losing a convenient place for breakfast or lunch. It means saying goodbye to a familiar piece of Pluckemin life. The Delii has been part of the community for approximately 40 years, while the historic building it occupies has stood for roughly two centuries.
Generations of customers have come through its doors, ordered sandwiches named after people they may or may not have known, and carried away a little piece of local tradition. Somewhere along the way, the sandwich names became part of the community’s folklore.
What many people didn’t know is that Annie’s as a business at its current location, was only owned as a business. The business owners rent the physical location. The property at 2095 Burnt Mills Road, Pluckemin, Bedminster Township, New Jersey, was last transferred by deed from Pluckemin Corner Corporation to Justin Jae Bang Lee and Joo Soon Lee on June 4, 2009.
One Last Sandwich, One Last Fun Story
Sometimes history comes full circle in the most unexpected ways. On October 19, 2026, Spencer Seidel, Annie’s son, the woman behind Pluckemin’s beloved Annie’s Deli, returned to the familiar sandwich shop for the first time since leaving for college, around the time his mother sold the business.
This time, he brought his wife, and there was one item on the menu he simply had to order: the Spencer sandwich, named in his honor all those years ago. As they stood at the counter, his wife couldn’t resist sharing a little piece of history with the young women working there. “You know who this is? This is Spencer, the person named on the menu for the sandwich!” Everyone smiled. After all those years, Spencer returned to the deli his mother made famous and ordered the very sandwich that still carried his name. A small moment, perhaps, but a wonderful reminder that local history isn’t just found in old photographs and newspaper clippings. Sometimes, it’s still right there at the top of the menu.
At Mr. Local History, we often remind people that local history isn’t always about Revolutionary War generals, grand mansions, or historic markers. Sometimes it’s about a little deli in Pluckemin where a woman who couldn’t find a job in art therapy decided to make sandwiches and name them after her friends.
Sometimes it’s about a sandwich honoring a tow pilot, a kindergarten teacher, or somebody’s cat. And sometimes the history worth saving is printed on a menu hanging behind the counter. Annie’sDelii may be closing its doors, but its wonderfully strange sandwich names deserve to live on.
Help Us Preserve the Stories Behind Annie’s Deli
Did you work at Annie’s? Did you know Emily, Annie, Roman, Patty, Nick, or anyone whose name appeared on the menu? Maybe you were one of the lucky people who actually had a sandwich named after you. We’d love to hear your memories, see your old photographs, and learn more about the characters who made this Delii so special.
Share your stories with the Mr. Local History Project so we can preserve this wonderful piece of Pluckemin history for future generations—Jersey history with a social twist.
The Woman Behind the Name
Mystery Solved: Who Was Annie?
After we posted our original story, we received a wonderful surprise: an email from Spencer Seidel, Annie’s only son. He confirmed that the woman behind the legendary Pluckemin deli was Anne Elizabeth Brown Seidel, born and raised in Rochester, Michigan, who later moved to New Jersey with her husband, Joseph (JOE PALOOKA: Ham â–Ş melted Swiss â–Ş bacon â–Ş tomatoes â–Ş mayo).
Annie, who passed away in 2013, originally worked for the deli’s previous owner, Diane, before purchasing the business herself. Spencer worked alongside his mother from approximately 1989 to 1993, eventually helping manage what became Annie’s Deli.
And yes, the famous “Spencer’s Special” was named after him! SPENCER’S SPECIAL Egg salad â–Ş bacon â–Ş onions â–Ş mayo
Spencer remembers eating a small version every morning before work, long before it officially appeared on the menu, but doesn’t remember the onions. “Maybe someone added it. Gotta get back to have one more before they close”. Spencer also revealed that Emily Stine Pike created the deli’s memorable hand-designed menus, one of which his father still proudly displays as artwork.
Even Annie’s cat had a sandwich named in her honor. Mrs. Terwillieger was named for Annie’s cat (MRS. TERWILLEGER Hot pastrami â–Ş melted Swiss â–Ş tomatoes â–Ş onion â–Ş mustard).
Sometimes the best history comes straight from the people who lived it!
Dan Smith did not work for Max Spann, he was an AT&T employee who entered a sandwich contest Emily, the original owner had. The winner got the sandwich named after them.