New Jersey’s original Sloppy Joe? Town Hall Deli serves up the sandwich that started it all

Order a Sloppy Joe at Town Hall Deli in South Orange, and you're not getting ground beef and tomato sauce. You're getting the original New Jersey Sloppy Joe, a triple-decker cold-cut sandwich that first came all the way from Cuba. In 1927, the Town Hall Deli opened. In the mid-'30s, the mayor of Maplewood, Mayor Sweeney, went to Havana, Cuba, and he ate at Sloppy Joe's Bar. He had a very similar sandwich to what we call the Sloppy Joe today, and he asked us to recreate it. The deli has moved a few times, and Matt Wonsky's family took over in the early 2000s. But the formula for these beloved sandwiches, and the culture here, has never changed. My goal is just to make sure that everything here is exactly as everybody remembers it from when they were a kid. The same smells, the same tastes, the same looks, the same feels. That feel, that taste, is what keeps this shop busy, and even shipping sandwiches across the country. Don't take my word for it. Ask the customers. I grew up thinking that the three-layer Jersey Sloppy Joe was the Sloppy Joe. There's a wonderful tradition to community in New Jersey, and for me, for my family, what's made here at Town Hall Deli has been part of that since my earliest days. So let's get into how it's done. Sloppy's in the name, but it's actually pretty neat. Everything on this sandwich is curated and made specifically for this process. Three pieces of Pullman rye bread, cut the long way. Typically, the most popular is roast beef and turkey, coleslaw, Russian dressing, Swiss cheese, bread, and a little bit of butter on the bread to protect the bread from getting soggy. The original sloppy joe made only like town hall deli can. We're often imitated, never duplicated. A piece of New Jersey history still being served in South Orange. Jack Ford, New Swell.