Momma Goldberg's Deli

Every good Auburn Tiger can recognize the distinctive sight and smell of pepper jack cheese melted on Doritos. It was Auburn graduate Justin Edwards, though, who brought those nachos to Homewood and the rest of the Southeast.

As a public administration major at Auburn, Edwards spent many free hours enjoying sandwiches with friends at Momma Goldberg’s. When he graduated and moved away, Edwards missed it. Despite a lack of restaurant management experience, Edwards decided he wanted to own the first Goldberg’s franchise location. Along with his friends Hal Craig and Scott Dean, he convinced the Goldberg’s founders to incorporate their family-run company.

The Homewood Momma Goldberg’s Deli opened in December 2007, the first of nearly 30 franchise locations now scattered across the Southeast.

“Homewood kind of started it all,” Edwards said. “At the time there wasn’t anything like it in Birmingham.”

The restaurant was an instant hit with Auburn graduates searching for a bite of War Eagle nostalgia, but Edwards said Goldberg’s has become a popular choice for local college students and downtown shoppers as well.

“We do have a pretty loyal following, [but] we’re always trying to expand and get new faces in there and let new people try out our product,” Edwards said.

The most popular sandwich is undoubtedly the Momma’s Love: roast beef, ham, turkey and Muenster cheese on a hoagie, topped with spicy mustard and Momma’s sauce.

“We tell first-timers that they need a bit of Momma’s Love,” Edwards said.

The nachos might have been created by college students at the Auburn store, but their popularity has no age limit.

“That’s something nobody else has, and people come back for it,” Edwards said.

The menu occasionally features new items, such as Dean’s creation of the California Momma, a turkey and provolone sandwich on rye bread with avocado and poppy seed dressing. For the most part, though, Edwards said the store hasn’t changed its menu or appearance much in its seven years.

“We try to keep our menu fairly simple if we can,” Edwards said. “We feel we’ve got a great product that people love, and we try to keep it at that.”

Edwards and Dean also own the downtown Birmingham Goldberg’s and are considering a franchise on U.S. 280 in the future. Edwards said managing multiple stores is time-consuming, but he enjoys the “Main Street feel” of the Homewood Goldberg’s and meeting fellow fans of Auburn’s most famous sandwich. He recalled once meeting a man at the post office who shook his hand for bringing some of Momma’s love to Homewood.

“I like being able to tell people that I’m part of Momma G,” Edwards said.