Britain’s Best Delis: Wally’s, Cardiff

To wander into Wally’s Delicatessen & Kaffeehaus in Cardiff’s Victorian Royal Arcade, is akin to tumbling down a culinary rabbit hole. The sheer volume and breadth of stock to be uncovered is breathtaking, and generations of excellence make this the place many other specialist food retailers in Wales and beyond revere and look up to.

A family affair

Heritage underpins the values of Wally’s, says owner Steven Salamon, who adds that while the business is fuelled by tradition, it always has a keen eye on current trends and the future.

Steven can trace the origins of Wally’s back to his Polish grandfather, Ignatz, who landed in the UK in 1939 with his wife and son, Walter (Steven’s father), escaping the clutches of the Nazis.

Ignatz avoided internment by joining the British Army, later working in a factory, before starting up a family shop. “He’d run a general store before in a little village in Austria, in the middle of nowhere,” Steven recalls. “When he was able to, he founded a small grocery store, that became a deli in 1949.”

Walter (known as Wally) came on board aged 14 with his brother Otto, both working alongside their father until his death in 1963, before going their separate ways when Cardiff City Council compulsorily purchased their shop in 1981. Otto headed to Caroline Street, while Wally decided to chance his luck, opening his eponymous deli in the shop’s current location.

Steven would later join his father, in 1993 (becoming owner in 1995), and the two worked side by side until Wally’s death in 2008.

Changing times

Naturally, nothing in food and drink (nor retail) stands still, and Wally’s has evolved numerous times in the last 50 years. “When I first came here,” Steven explains, “we had a single unit. When Cardiff city centre was redeveloped again in 2009, it resulted in another opportunity for us to expand into the unit next door. It all happened just after my father passed. He didn’t see us triple in size or open up the Viennese-style kaffeehaus upstairs. That’s our homage to our origin story.”

As well as physically expanding its footprint, having a bigger shop has, of course, meant what Wally’s has to offer customers has greatly increased. Where, originally, it was known as a continental deli, today customers relish being able to buy ingredients, products and gifts from Wales, Britain, and all corners of the world – be that Polish sausages, Canadian hot sauce, Greek honey, or South African chutney.

Today, Wally’s encompasses masses of ambient goods across its shelves, a deli counter, cheese counter, large alcohol selection, chocolate counter, refill section and so much more.

Carving out a USP

What sets Wally’s apart, and what it’s perhaps best known for, Steven reflects, is this sheer volume and variety. “We have an incredible range – all quality, artisan and authentic. We try to sell products you’d find on shelves overseas, displaying them in an old-fashioned environment, with good old-fashioned personal, attentive service.”

Being so ingrained in Cardiff’s food and drink culture works in Wally’s favour too. “We’ve been serving four generations of customers - people who knew my father, or grandfather. We constantly keep that heritage alive in our stories, and the way we dress and the way we greet people. It’s very very important to us. Almost every day people tell me they have memories of my father. They remember him standing by the door, chatting to them.”

Many customers, he adds, have been shopping at Wally’s since they were little, now bringing in their own children and grandchildren. “It forms a part of their Christmas or other memories and has a presence of its own which is so special. You can’t replicate that online!”

Stocking up

Another key to success, in Steven’s mind (as well as service) is being able to offer everything customers might want, all in one place. “We are a deli people use for their everyday shopping,” he says proudly. “A lot of delis are becoming gift stores, but people come here sometimes every day of the week or throughout the month for products they’re going to use at home.” The price point, he adds, has to be right. “You shouldn’t outprice yourself. You’ve got to try to be in the middle or above the middle of the spectrum. People shouldn’t feel it’s an extravagance coming here to shop.”

Although it’s best known for its global flair, Wally’s is increasingly adding to its choice of Welsh and Welsh-adjacent food and drink, in response to the growing number of tourists paying the shop a visit.

This is a stark contrast to how the business started. “We were never a deli which tried to sell local,” Steven says. “We tried to sell from all over the world, but gradually over the years we’ve taken on more Welsh products as the tourism industry has expanded here. Also, Welsh products have become better quality. Welsh cheeses, for example, now compare quite favourably with French and other continental varieties.”

Outside of the deli counter, there is a section of Wally’s signposted towards local producers. “But otherwise, we try to steer away from the rest of the UK, because we’ve got to have our own angle.”

What Steven and the team are much more interested in is being bold and exciting – especially in the face of welcoming return customers over and over again. They’ve got real opportunities to showcase new products on a regular basis, with sales strong across all categories. And there’s almost no part of the shop that doesn’t boast something different each week.

The deli counter is a constant source of surprise, Steven thinks. “People love the quality and choice we offer. In supermarkets its mostly pre-packed meats these days, but everything here is freshly sliced, and I think fresh products are always part of the reason people come in.”

Visitors will find cured, smoked meats from all over Germany, Italy and Spain, with “a smattering of French”  - several of them featuring on the open sandwiches in the kaffeehaus upstairs.

“They’re all good quality brands and beautifully presented.”

What is the future of the British deli?

To survive the retail landscape, Steven says the strongest strategies are to always offer something different to the multiples, while remaining affordable. “You can’t get too expensive. It’s hard to keep prices down, I know, but you’re fighting off competition from supermarkets and you’ve got to stay on top of pricing if you want to be a part of people’s everyday regular shopping.” The biggest challenge posed here, is overheads, he adds.

“You’ve got to remember, people are comparing you and thinking about their purses. If you go too far with pricing, that will turn people away.”

On stock, he adds, “We have as many suppliers as we can physically deal with to keep our range fresh and to offer variety. There are products you will see here that are also at other delis or farm shops, but we build on those so there’s something interesting everywhere you look. An Asian section ... or a Greek section. It’s harder work to keep on top of it all, but it’s worth it, and I have to say, we’re very experienced at that!”

What makes a great deli?

“Personal service,” says Steven. “As well as quality products, and presentation – everything the supermarket doesn’t do. You’ve also got to keep the deli counters fresh and appetising – people buy with their eyes. Add new, interesting products into the mix to keep people coming back.”

Going back to service, he adds, “Training staff is important, and so is having the right staff, because they represent you.”

Steven’s favourite products

- At Christmas I was raised on lebkuchen and stollen. Our customers love it when they come in at the end of the year.

- Some of the Polish meats, like the garlic boiling ring. They remind me of my childhood. I like those.

- Bara brith. It’s a light Welsh teacake made with fruit and infused with tea. 

- Our biggest selling lines are Italian cannoli, Turkish delight and milk chocolate covered Brazil nuts. They’re followed by Black Bomber cheese, Parma ham, Mortadella, and Molino Bianco biscuits.