Best-kept secret: Malins Market

Malins Market has a full menu, but most university students pass the shop on the way to I-95 without giving it a second thought. The unassuming brick building sits quietly off Route 896, neighboring busy gas stations and fast food joints.

Ken Malin, one of the owners of Malins Market, says his father bought the store in 1974 and brought his nine children with him. All of the boys, six in total, moved into the apartment above Malis Market.

The store was built in 1953 but has only seen two owners, including the Malins, since the early 1970s, Malin says.

"We took over in '74, and have been here ever since," he says.

Malin admits he doesn't do much advertising, mostly because he has a good clientele that come in early and often. He makes deliveries to large businesses daily, and he says he makes a good living from selling sandwiches.

When he took over the store in 1988, he began making cold sandwiches, but eventually obtained a grill and began making hot sandwiches as well. He says the cheese steaks are his most popular hot item, bringing in about half of his business.

Since his customers come in so often, he's able to keep only the freshest products on the shelves. Malin says his deli meats and steaks are fresh because he sells them so fast.

His most popular cold item is a turkey sandwich, which features fresh turkey, cooked almost daily. The sandwich, named the Jim Bob, keeps with the store's family tradition.

"I got five brothers, but I got a Jim and a Bob," Malin says. "So I figured I'd call it the Jim Bob."

Malin says he doesn't advertise or send out mailers because his business does fine without them. Most people who come in hear about it from family or friends.

"I really don't advertise and the outside doesn't look like much," he says. "But we've been here for so long, we're in pretty good shape."

Still, he's OK with his store not being on most people's radar.

"Through the grapevine, the word has gotten out," he says. "Word of mouth is the best advertising."

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