You could call it a one-stop-shop. A place to fuel up, grab snacks, or buy a freshly made sandwich.
"It's a one-man show. I'm everything here," said Elijah Ahmed, owner of Eli's Deli and Grill.
Ahmed opened his sandwich shop on Nov. 1 inside the BP gas station on Hopmeadow Road in Simsbury.
He is the only cook in the kitchen and said none of his sandwiches are premade - customers leave with food, fresh off the grill. Shortly after opening, however, his business took a dip.
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"I was thinking about closing because it was slow when I first started here, probably because of the holiday and no advertisement. It's only a couple signs on the windows," Ahmed said.
Just last week, Ahmed posted this message on social media, saying:
"Sadly, I will close the business next month. It's been really slow since we opened. I guess I'm in the wrong spot, I will notify you guys with the new location when I get another one."
But that news didn't sit well with customers. When they heard this, the community came together to show their support.
Elijah said some customers went on Facebook and urged the community to keep the business afloat. This generated dozens of comments and shares. Plus, a lot of foot traffic this past weekend.
"They all came out. On Saturday, I had a line all the way to the outside. Like I couldn't even keep up with them. I had to stop taking orders," Ahmed said.
There was quite the lunch rush on Thursday as well.
"My dad heard about it through Facebook. He tried it. He said he really liked the steak and cheese. So, I went out and got for the whole family," Patrick Kerr, of Simsbury, said.
"We're right down the road so we're really excited there's another option for us," Elise Cafferata, of Simsbury, said.
"You smell his food, and you're like, 'what is that?'" Julio Colon, of Simsbury, said.
Colon was one of Ahmed's first customers, and he's a loyal one, too. He said he's there two or three times a week and is happy to see it stay.
"There's no other place to be. BP is the way to go," Colon said.
