Serving up the Blues It’s wholesome food with a sound hook as music lovers open deli in Machias

Machias is getting the blues but good, but that ain’t bad.

That’s because the blues have come to the Washington County town in the form of the new Fat Cat Deli, now open at 28 Main St.

The eatery is the brainchild of Matt Bauman, a native of Detroit, Mich., and his fiancee, Faye Mack, who hails from Detroit, Maine.

The couple from two very different Detroits first met as students at the University of Maine at Machias, which he attended and where she is wrapping up her degree in elementary education. Bauman had landed in town four years ago seeking a change of scenery, having gotten “on a bus with my belongings and coming as far east as the bus would go.”

Both Bauman, 25, and Mack, 23, are food-service veterans, and have worked together at Helen’s Restaurant in Machias and The Colonel’s Restaurant in Northeast Harbor. The couple saw a niche for a different kind of place in Machias.

“What’s here is gas station-type food or sit-down restaurants, and we felt something in between would be great,” Bauman explained. “Something I miss about being from a big city is having a good deli sandwich.”

Initially, the Fat Cat Deli will offer soups, sandwiches, salads, desserts, soda, coffee and tea on its menu, as well as meats and cheeses from the deli. The specialty sandwiches include the Dinty Moore (corned beef, lettuce, cheddar cheese and Thousand Island dressing on white bread) and the Roast Beef Blues (roast beef, red onions, lettuce and blue cheese with a sour cream, mayonnaise and Worcestershire dressing on toasted multigrain bread). A regular dessert offering is the Broken Record Cheesecake, which features the rich confection frozen on a stick and then hand-dipped in milk chocolate.

Equally important to the food will be a chance to expose more people to the blues.

“Hopefully we’ll spread a little more knowledge about this kind of music, because it’s important,” Bauman said. “A lot of people haven’t been exposed to it, and hopefully they’ll like it.”

Count Mack among Bauman’s early converts.

“He turned me onto the blues,” she said. “I was never interested before; I was strictly a country [music] girl. But he’s shown me the similarities between the two.”

The deli practically wails the blues. The sign outside the building was created by Mack’s mother, Pittsfield artist and NEWS writer Sharon Kiley Mack. The music wafts through the air of the place. There are posters of blues greats, records and instruments on the walls and the restroom is wallpapered with posters. There are blues books and magazines for customers to thumb through.

Each lunch hour will feature a highlighted album, which will be available to buy there. This summer, the couple hope to hold outdoor blues concerts in the adjoining vacant lot.

Originally, the couple were looking to purchase an existing deli, but that fell through. Then the next space they looked at was their current spot, which was “the perfect size and location,” Bauman said. The building, which had among its many incarnations housed a boutique and a bookstore, was gutted and renovated. The deli’s four small tables will seat 14, but much of the business will be takeout. They hope to add outdoor seating this summer.

Bauman will handle everything behind the scenes, including menu planning, food preparation and bookkeeping, while Mack will work “the front of the house,” serving customers. Mack is finished with school full time, with only one Internet course to take this semester. She hopes to find a teaching job for next fall, then work at the deli on weekends and during the summer.

The couple purposefully launched the deli when business is slower in Maine.

“We did want to start in the slow season, and not in the summer, when we would get bombarded,” Bauman said. “We’ll be pretty busy for the first few weeks, as there’s quite a bit of excitement in the community for something new. This will give us a good indication where we need to go.”

Bauman said there’s room for a blues-themed deli in Machias.

“You give people a high-quality product and treat them well, then you can run a successful business,” he said.

The Fat Cat Deli is open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call 255-6777 or visit fatcatdeli.com. Dale McGarrigle can be reached at 990-8028 and dmcgarrigle@bangordailynews.net.