AGAWAM – Joey’s Deli & Market is ready to make their mark on the community as they enter their first full calendar year of business.

The novel market, which officially opened their doors on Dec. 14, 2020, serves a variety of different sandwiches, whether it is beef, poultry, pork, and other types of grillers. They also serve desserts and other products inside their location.

Jonathan Cunningham, co-owner and head chef at the market, opened the deli after the COVID-19 pandemic left him without a job.

“Once I got laid off, I started renting a kitchen, and I started selling my prepared meals to a couple of area gyms,” said Cunningham, who carries over 25 years of experience inside the kitchen.

After going out for coffee one day, Cunningham noticed a “for rent” sign in front of the small building located on 1226 Springfield St. What was recently just vacant quickly became the perfect place for Cunningham to put his cooking skills on display.

“I saw the for rent sign and was like, ‘I wish I had a store front to sell my meals,’” said Cunningham, with regard to how the deli idea came about. “It really all happened at the same time. It was all within a week.”

Cunningham named the deli after his future wife and co-owner, Joanna Guindon. They met while marathon training, and have traversed many long-form races together, including half marathons, marathons, and a 50k run. Their healthy lifestyle is represented throughout their menu, according to Cunningham.

“He’s not using processed ingredients,” said Guindon, when describing Cunningham’s cooking. “He’s using spices, fresh vegetables and meats. It’s what we eat at home, and kept us in really good shape.”

Guindon, who is also a hospice nurse on the day-to-day basis, assists in any way she can around the deli. “I’ll do anything they ask me to do, except cook,” she said.

Aside from the fresh vegetables, Cunningham also serves other healthy options like burrito bowls and turkey bowls with broccoli and rice.

“Everything is homemade,” said Cunningham. “I don’t buy stuff at all. I even roast my own deli meats.”

As 2021 progresses, Cunningham said that he hopes to help the community in any way he can. He obtains honey locally, and sells Moolicious ice cream to help the Southwick business, as well.

The New England region as a whole is seen throughout parts of the menu, whether in the homemade mac n’ cheese, New England clam chowder, or the Vermont cheddar used in some of the sandwiches.

The deli also features a daily menu that Cunningham updates as much as possible. Anything from chicken pot pies to cheeseburger chowder soup can be found on this portion of the menu.

“The daily menu is prepared meals,” said Cunningham. “I rarely do the same meal more than once, whatever my mood is.”

The biggest goal for this calendar year, according to Cunningham, is to build his business within the community as much as he can. He also needs to situate a few in-house items once the deli is in a comfortable spot financially.

“The first year, I just intend on getting myself into the community,” said Cunningham. “We’re hopefully going to be sponsoring a baseball team.”

The deli and market is currently open for takeout at the Springfield Street location. For those who want more information on the establishment, visit their website at https://joeysdelimarket.com/.