Mr. V’s Deli is selling. Their lease is up at the end of June, 2023, and they are not renewing. Maggie says she’s tired, but would like to work for a new owner.

A Little Beacon Blog received an anonymous tip in our DMs that we should do a story on Mr. V’s Deli. Being frequent taker-outers of Mr. V’s for breakfast, we said “Sure, but what’s the angle? A feature story must have a relevant and timely angle.” The tipster replied: “You should ask them.”

So we did. After the lunch-rush, we went in to ask the question. In between flipping eggs for the famous bacon egg sandwiches, the answer came: “I’m tired!” said Maggie, the owner of Mr. V’s. Margaret Ann Palisi inherited the deli from her father, Mr. Vitanza, aka “Poppy”. Maggie, who also goes by Meg, started working at Mr. V’s when she was 30, and 30 years later, she is ready to retire. Her sister, Jean Mignault, agrees, and also does not want to continue ownership.

“We have had a few nibbles, and one prospect, but no deals,” said Maggie.

ALBB asked Maggie what the response to the news has been, but her entourage of female cooks and supporters answered for her. “People are sad.”

All of the ladies were listening to our interview, their hands busy putting together sandwiches and bagging them for to-go orders. The phone continued ringing off the hook, as it does daily.

Maggie expanded: “People are telling me, ‘No, you can't do it.’ It's a lot easier for them to say because they aren't here. It’s a little different for us who are here. I'm putting in a lot of hours. I get here at 5am and I got home at 3pm. That’s a lot of hours to go somewhere. And that’s just here. That’s not including book-work. Shopping for the place. It's a lot. I had to bring my friend up from South Carolina because I can't find people here to work. I'm over it."

And yet Maggie is sad. Her eyes glassy and tired, she said she wanted to work for the next owner. “Oh yes, I would put in a couple days a week working. Just to give me something to do. I want to walk in as an employee, and walk out the door for the day.” This is a common response from business owners who grow tired running their businesses. Some business owners just want to go back to doing the work they loved, before the administrative part of the business sucked the second half of their day away. Some are still thriving doing both. Some can hire someone to take that load off. But at the end of the day, the load still rests on the owner, and it can get heavy.

The business is listed for $199,000. She is willing to sell the name with the business. Which would only make sense if the new owner kept the same theme, vibes and respect for how the food has been prepared. Not everyone can make a piping hot bacon egg sandwich that is still hot an hour after it was called in because someone got stuck on a meeting call (ahem…thanks for holding my order for me, ladies!).

Will the rent increase? “I can’t answer that,” said Maggie. Locally, rents have been increasing, hiking actually, by landlords who see an opportunity to renovate the space, or fill it with dreams of “New York City people” coming up to change their lives. The current landlords for the building that houses Mr. V’s are Headstone and Associates. The property changed hands a few years ago.

Would prices increase with a new owner? You could only do the math, but if you had a higher rent, and you want to pay employees well, the community might need to prepare for higher prices. However, low prices are part of what make Mr. Vs what it is. Accessible and affordable.

If you want a deli that feeds all of Beacon, and employees a good group of women who do not mince words, this could be your chance. The most popular items are the bacon and egg sandwich for brunch, and the Italian combo for lunch.

Just last week, this blogger had a premonition that Mr. V’s closed for a day because they were sick. The staff at Mr. V’s never take the day off, so their closing would mean that most parents of sporting events would not have breakfast. Entire departments of the City of Beacon would not walk out with their brown bag lunches on their 30 minute lunch breaks. The pretend headline ran “Someone Is Sick At Mr. V’s, So All Of Beacon Had To Make Their Own Breakfast.”

It was a relief finding out that the premonition was just a bad dream.

However, one DM and subsequent interview changed that.

Will you buy it? Go in and begin your courtship. After 30 years, Mr V’s will close at the end of June if no buyer who really wants it steps in.