Food & Beer
LET'S EAT!
By Dan Greenwood
SOUTHERN MN STYLE Siblings Milad (right) and Souraya Sadaka opened Sadaka’s Deli at Mankato East Center in December 2020.
Sadaka’s Deli ‘A little bit of everything’
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hen siblings Milad and Souraya Sadaka opened Sadaka’s Deli at Mankato East Center in December 2020, they created a menu that would attract a diverse array of clients. They hesitate to label themselves, or the menu, which features everything from American fare such as hamburgers and club sandwiches to international cuisine, with German, Mexican, Vietnamese, Canadian and a handful of Lebanese-inspired dishes in honor of their family background. “We do a little bit of everything from hamburgers to grilled cheeses to Mediterranean food,” Souraya Sadaka said. The siblings have worked
Photos by Pat Christman together in the restaurant industry for 25 years, most recently at Charley’s Restaurant and Lounge in Mankato, named after their other brother. The deli has been a popular spot for the 1,500 employees who work at the center, which includes a branch for Mayo Clinic Health System and Mankato Clinic, among other businesses, with some customers stopping in daily for breakfast or lunch. They take pride in using fresh and local ingredients, buying directly from vendors at the Mankato Farmers’ Market, including their Lebanese salad, which includes locally grown fresh onions, tomatoes, mint and zucchini. It’s then topped with
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marinated chicken and a signature sauce, using recipes created by Souraya Sadaka’s brother, Milad. “Every day we cut our vegetables, he (Milad) cuts the ham and turkey, and everything is served fresh every day. We make our salads as we go. We don’t prepare anything ahead of time, so it stays nice and fresh,” Souraya Sadaka said. Part of the reason they don’t want to be boxed in with a label is that the duo has made it their mission to be incredibly flexible with customers, offering to customize orders, even taking suggestions for future menu items. Souraya Sadaka said their menu is never set in stone. “We ask them what they like, and
