By Zach Bailey<\/p>\n
The bell above the door gave a little ring as Paul Lundquist, 14-year Winona resident, walked through the doors of Beno\u2019s Deli\u2019s quaint downtown location on a crisp fall afternoon. He turned and made his way over to the counter to order his usual, a Dutch Treat.<\/p>\n
The counter worker looked up, gave a quick smile and greeted her new customer.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo green stuff except a pickle, right, Paul?\u201d the employee said.<\/p>\n
Lundquist nodded and paid for his sandwich. He turned the corner and walked over to the row of booths set against the wall.<\/p>\n
Admiring the fall decorations, he paused in front of the first booth, where a prop skeleton was seated, decked out in a fedora, coffee cup in hand, and copy of the \u201cWinona Daily News\u201d on the table in front of it. Lundquist gave a chuckle and made his way to a window seat, where two small pumpkins were seated on the ledge.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s Beno\u2019s,\u201d Lundquist said after being asked why he first started eating here. \u201cI came to town and everyone said I had to eat here; it\u2019s just kind of a local institution.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to their official website, Beno\u2019s Deli, which has been considered a Winona staple since its opening in 1984, was originally located in Lake City, Minnesota, with another located in Red Wing, Minnesota. Both were owned by Ron and Joan Shimbeno, where the name of \u201cBeno\u2019s\u201d originally came from. After multiple years in business, both locations closed before Darlene Russell, a friend of the Shimbenos, opened the Winona location.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe chain sandwich places are OK, but you don\u2019t get the same quality and service [as at local restaurants],\u201d Lundquist said. \u201cIt\u2019s one of the benefits of eating and shopping local.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Out of the three original locations, only the downtown Winona location was left — that is, until Corinne Loomis, who bought the store in 2014, took control of things.<\/p>\n
Loomis, who had worked at Midtown Foods since 1998, with her final few years at the downtown location kitty-corner from Beno\u2019s Deli, had been a fan of Beno\u2019s while growing up and was able to watch the business move forward, as well as decide where she would like to take things.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe clientele has changed a little, mostly people who work downtown, but lots of things have stayed the same,\u201d Loomis said. \u201cWe still have the original menu from when the Winona location first opened, and we\u2019ve tried to update the building by doing things like painting, but I like the old-time charm and history. I don\u2019t want to make it ultra-modern; that\u2019s not what Beno\u2019s is.\u201d<\/p>\n
The one major change the business has gone through, however, is the recent addition of a second Winona location in the Winona Mall.<\/p>\n
According to Loomis, the plans had been going off and on for about a year, and she had been approached by multiple customers that she should talk to the owner of the Winona Mall.<\/p>\n
\u201cI talked with [the owner of the Winona Mall] for months, then got the opinion of my husband, mom, and fellow workers and discussed if we could make it work,\u201d Loomis said. \u201cIn the end, we decided to just do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the wheels turning to open their second location, different pieces started falling into place, as well as the appearance of new options.<\/p>\n
Wine of the Bean, which had previously occupied the space in the Winona Mall now occupied by the new Beno\u2019s Deli location, was open during the early morning hours each day. The downtown location of Beno\u2019s, however, is known for being open only from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Monday-Saturday. With a new location also came the option of a new set of hours.<\/p>\n
\u201cWine of the Bean opened early each day so that other employees in the mall could get coffee as their businesses were opening, so we decided to take over the coffee part and hours of the location and just incorporate sandwiches as well,\u201d Loomis said.<\/p>\n
The Winona Mall has been a location for the past decade that seems to have trouble keeping stores of all types for an extended period of time, but Loomis believes that Beno\u2019s is there to stay.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Wine of the Bean] struggled with staffing and quick products. [The location] needed a well-established business that could get people in and out quickly,\u201d Loomis said. \u201cWe tried being open later at the downtown location in the past, but it didn\u2019t always work, so we decided to give it a whirl out here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over 30 years, three buildings, and one new location since first opening its doors in Winona, Beno\u2019s continues to be one of the local staples for a bite to eat.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been around since 1984, so now we\u2019re starting to get children and grandchildren of people who were here at the beginning,\u201d Loomis said. \u201cAlumni from Winona State come with kids and order the same thing they always used to get, and they all tell me how everything is \u2018just how we remember it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
After having gone through the recent addition, Beno\u2019s currently has no further plans for future location changes.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow we\u2019re going to try to perfect what we\u2019ve got,\u201d Loomis said.<\/p>\n
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Zach Bailey<\/em><\/strong> is a senior marketing and mass communication-journalism major from Winona, Minnesota. He is currently the editor-in-chief of the Winonan, the Winona State student newspaper, as well as a member of Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity. In his free time, he enjoys racing motorcycles, playing guitar, reading and watching movies. He hopes to one day work for the New York Times and become a published author.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Zach Bailey The bell above the door gave a little ring as Paul Lundquist, 14-year Winona resident, walked through the doors of Beno\u2019s Deli\u2019s quaint downtown location on a crisp fall afternoon. He turned and made his way over to the counter to order his usual, a Dutch Treat. The counter worker looked up, … Continue reading Beno’s in Winona<\/span>