When local television stations ask viewers to vote on their favorite restaurant, convenience stores don’t often make those lists. However, United Deli & Grocery in Columbus, Mississippi, is bucking this trend: In 2025, the store won the WCBI News Viewer’s Choice Award. And that’s not its only award: Mississippi Magazine named United Deli & Grocery the maker of “Mississippi’s Best Sandwich” and Columbus Dispatch readers voted the store “Best Deli in the Triangle.”
So, what’s the secret? Owner John Musa believes there are a few factors at play.
“I’d say the cook sets us apart. Second, the quality of the meat,” Musa explained, adding, “People drive 20 or 40 miles to eat here. You have to be there for your customers.”
Musa said he insists that the employees love the food they prepare and that they pay attention to detail.
“I tell my workers when you have food, you have to design it. When you make it, be happy. You have to respect the food. You get it in your system. When I sell a hamburger or Philly steak, customers feel they have to eat it,” he said.
Customers also love the food at United Deli & Grocery, as Facebook users will attest to. “If y’all ain’t been here and got a ‘Johns special’ you’re missing out!” read a comment on the store’s Facebook page. The John’s Special sandwich is piled high with roast beef, turkey, ham, cheddar and Swiss cheese, mayo, lettuce, tomato, onions and pickles.
Also popular are the hamburgers, which found their way to United Deli & Grocery from a previous store Musa owned.
“I was in Brooksville, Mississippi, with a little gas station in the middle of nowhere. I was working by myself. I only sold pizza. I got a tiny grill to cook hamburgers for myself. People would smell the hamburger cooking and ask about it. I sold a few and customers liked [it] better than pizza. … I brought it to this store and customers like it,” he said.
The Secret to a Great Sandwich
Bread is the most important component of the dish, according to some chefs. For Musa, he had to take matters into his own hands—literally.
“When I was in New York, hoagie style bread was everywhere. You can’t find this [in Mississippi]. A friend said my hamburger was good, but I had the wrong bread,” Musa said. That comment led to his search for the perfect bread.
“I bought the right oven, I tried a lot of bread, but none of them were right. I found a factory in Buffalo, New York, that was making dough and it was what I needed,” he said. Now he sources dough from Sysco and bakes it on-site.
Baking bread is a commitment, explained Musa. “If you don’t have the energy for it, you’re not going to make it right. I proof the dough overnight. I bake bread four or five times a day— about a hundred loaves—and some customers come in and just buy the bread,” he said.
Customers ask for the hamburger on the baked-in-house hoagie rolls. That’s right, a 12-inch hamburger.
“I put two patties on the bread—it’s big,” he said.
Love What You Do
Just like his love for food, Musa wholeheartedly believes in serving his customers directly. “I work here every day. If you own a restaurant and you’re not in it all the time it’s not good,” he said.
He also believes in transparency, which instills trust with customers that their food is prepared fresh. “My deli is wide open. You can see everything. Customers can watch the sandwich being made,” he said.
And although he enjoys seeing what other restaurants are doing, Musa is confident in his menu and food.
“I eat in other restaurants; I’ve tried a lot of delis and food. They go in a different direction. My menu is full and I don’t want to change,” he said, noting that his customers prefer to order their favorite dish. “We have a lot of older customers who like the same thing most of the time.”
“I am grateful for all of my customers— the military, law enforcement and firefighters have put us in business and keep us in business. I get my results from customers,” he said.