Spicer’s Deli in Port Angeles

Went to Spicer’s deli in Port Angeles Sunday and had a really good lunch with my family. It took me a while to “get it,” but when when I did it was real. Real is the theme there: real spices, real food, real soda in real bottles. No fancy packaging, no extreme marketing, no sensory overload - just real.

I have to say that’s why I didn’t get it at first. I am so used to a barrage of marketing attacks that when something like this comes along that isn’t overhyped it gets overlooked. That would be a mistake; the “grocery” (probably my only complaint - it should be called a “spicery” and deli) welcomes you with a wall of Ball canning jars filled with bulk stuff. I figured at first it was a gimmick, a decoration, another marketing ploy to make you feel like you’re in an old general store until we were encouraged to open the jars and take a sniffy sniff of anything… what a blast! The family had a great time comparing likes/dislikes. “Oh, wow, smell the tapioca pearls…” I didn’t know tapioca started as pearls. We smelled the mulling spices, etc. My son tricked his sister into taking a huge whiff of the apple cider vinegar powder (don’t do this).

It’s real fun that makes real memories - not prepackaged, canned, vacuum packed, or marketed - just real. Sandwiches had a real amount of meat,

so much so that I couldn’t open my mouth wide enough to take a bite. What a wonderful addition to our Port Angeles waterfront! I have always claimed this area has more to offer than most places around the world. It’s not Disney around here - the mountains are real, the ocean is real, and the adventure here is real. Nice to have a place like Spicer’s in our neighborhood. It’s a good fit.