Dang. Ninja’d by Procrustus.
I like those comments. Avoid cutesy unless you’re sure cutesy sells. Some locales require foo-foo, but it hurts my brain.
Big Name
Breakfast - Lunch
Patio & Indoor
An arrow is good. Finding the money for a sign craftsman is good (rather than a cranked out assembly line product.) They can come up with something charming that will fit business, fit the location and still catch eyes.
No advice but wishing you the best of luck for the future !
Dopers rule !
The Deli They Don’t Want You To Know About!
What type of deli is it? Italian? Jewish? German? Something else? Put it on the sign - the less generic-sounding the description, the more people will pay attention to it.
Do you have some special menu item that sells really well? Mention it on the sign. “Home of the Super Bratwurst Sub” gets attention.
HUNGRY?
Try our World Renowned Food
always seems to work, well I’m in Australia and even I have now heard of you!
Can you paint it with chalkboard paint and change the message regularly?
Two or three awesome pictures of your yummy food and the words;
‘Secret Deli’ and an arrow pointing the way.
I’d go to see what a Secret Deli consisted of, without a doubt!
But mostly, congrats on a job well done, few new restaurants see the black in such short order, you’re definitely on your way! Well Done!
It’s verbiage by the way.
“Prepare To Eat”
The sign will of course be in the shape of a deli sandwich.
I’d include an example or two of particular foods that might be relevant to the location/mood/weather.
If you are in a hot place, something like “Ice cold lemonade! Home made ice cream!” In a cooler place, “Piping hot chili, oven warm brownies.” Maybe include both- one in red writing and one in blue.
If you choose well, it may just spark a craving in some people. Someone could be walking down the street and think “Yeah, you know, a lemonade sounds perfect right now.” If you can incorporate something that kids may want, it could induce begging (though that might go either way for unhealthy food- it might be better to just mention that kid-friendly items are available.)
Secret Deli, is pretty cool.
The Best Deli you never heard of.
Hey what is your tourists demographic? Country, state, age etc
Oy, thanks for the correction. Good thing I didn’t put that on our sign. 
No,** Motorgirl**, it can’t be easily changed.
I think we’re going to end up keeping it fairly simple. Maybe add American Style Deli. The foundation is talking about putting our menu on a digital type sign in the same area, so simple is probably going to work best in the end.
Thanks everyone. We aren’t safe yet, but we really do feel pretty good about where we are. Three months ago I spent three days crying over our first yelp review, which was not too flattering, but now we’re up to 11 reviews not counting the filtered ones and we have a 4 1/2 star rating. They like us! They really like us!
I’m reminded of this sign.
I think simple verbiage is most effective. How about making it look like a sandwich: upper & lower bread border, with inner meat, tomato, and lettuce? You could even add a pickle graphic on the side. Better yet, a pointing pickle.
Deli Name
Breakfast - Lunch
Patio & Indoor
I like that Laina. Max, that’s funny!
Sisu, We do get a fair share of tourists. People traveling to and from Tahoe. Apple Hill Season is coming up and we are told it is the busiest season for the whole town.
Thanks again.