By Steve Cherkassky
Rob Woloshin is no stranger to the demands of the food service industry and the dedication it entails. Before his now seventh year as co-owner of Manny’s Delicatessen with the Thomas brothers, Jeremy and Chase, he aspired to own a bar and restaurant. Fresh out of Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, the restauranteur-to-be was thrown into the breakneck-paced Philly bar scene at Public House, now City Tap House in Logan Square.
Though the hours were long and unforgiving, he absorbed every bit of learning he could — one particular general manager at Public House imparted a philosophy that has stuck with Woloshin all these years later. One such quote that Rob recalled was that “the staff doesn’t work for me; I work for my staff.” He continued, espousing the virtues of achieving a positive work environment and the responsibilities that fall on an owner to maintain it, saying about his previous mentor, “He would always call himself an ‘elevated busboy,’ and I always, like, took that to heart.”
After working the bars, Rob eventually found his way into the hospitality industry, having climbed his way up to director of housekeeping at Hotel Monaco, a Kimpton Hotel based in Philadelphia, after several years. He married his now wife, Chelsea, and during their honeymoon, she became the big push that Woloshin needed to follow his passion of owning a restaurant — specifically, a Jewish deli. When asked why that genre of restaurant in particular, Woloshin mentioned that he, Jeremy and Chase were in agreement that the concept of the Jewish-run delicatessen was in need of a revitalizing shot of new blood — a youthful perspective.
Since the establishment of Manny’s, Rob and the Thomas brothers have seen a resurgence of the modernized Jewish deli in the Bucks and Montgomery County areas, having opened a Manny’s Deli Stop in Willow Grove just last year. Nearly seven years after the establishment of the flagship location, Rob and Chelsea are blessed with two children: Cole, 5, and Sloane, 3. The family often gets involved in events at Congregation Beth Or in Montgomery County, whether through kids Shabbat services or helping with some of the dinners they host. While running a successful restaurant demands that Woloshin maintain it to the best of his ability, he makes it a point to spend as much time with his kids as possible. Chelsea has recently become a fixture at Manny’s Deli Stop in Willow Grove, working together with her husband and the staff who regard each other like family.
Do you feel that the knowledge and experience you’ve accrued over the years in food service, and later as a restauranteur, have given you a unique perspective on parenting?
Just dealing with random things that come up and different issues and thinking on your feet, which you have to be good at as a restaurant owner, like, a pipe burst, or this breaks, you know? Your whole system goes down in the middle of the day. You got to be able to roll with the punches and figure it out, and quickly, because nobody cares that your point-of-sales system went down. They want their sandwich and they don’t want to wait an extra five minutes because you can’t take their payment. You got to figure it out. So, those types of things and staying calm and just, like, laughing about it. I would say that there’s a lot of overlaps [in running a business and having kids].
How do you find balance between your work and family life?
There’s times where it’s challenging for sure, like if you’re in one of those stretches where your staffing’s a little messy, and you’re busy, and a normal eight-to-ten-hour day is now a fourteen-hour day for three straight weeks or a couple months straight. It’s draining, but, in general, I’ve done my best. [With] deli, especially, we close at seven, so even if I close, which I don’t even close very often anymore, I’m home by five just to have dinner with my kids. If I’m in early, I’m in early, but I try to get in there in the morning with the kids. This is unlike most restaurants, but I’m at the point where I try to be off on the weekends.
Woloshin then described how the drain of the Philly nightlife during his time working in bars in his 20s had not given him much of a social life. Sure, he had his work friends and they would hang out, but he made it a point to work those unforgiving hours to get the experience he needed, so that he could be there for his family while thriving under the pressures of owning a restaurant. My dad was really good. He was always at my soccer games, and that will be me at my kids’ games.
Steve Cherkassky is a freelance writer.
