Fife N' Dekel

Though its name in German means "good for nothing," you'd be hard-pressed to convince its clientele that.  Once the "open" sign lights up at Fife N' Dekel, folks flock to the eateries, hungry for what's available in the cozy deli atmospheres that await them. A daily rotation of soups, stews and chili complement the serving area, where staff also custom-create the sandwiches.

"My sister Barb started the order-your-sandwich-to-your-liking, before anyone else," recalls Jacquie Fenske, one of Fife N' Dekel's co-owners. "It caught on because people could choose what they like." Then there's the signature pies, from key lime to apple, all baked by the staff – including some with their own legendary stories.

Jacquie is especially fond of one story where Fife N' Dekel catered a local company function, where one American worker involved with the company in a million-dollar deal happily munched on a flapper pie. Shortly after the event, that deal multiplied tenfold. "The guy said he was coming back, but told us that he wanted that flapper pie when he returned to Edmonton for another meeting," Jacquie says. "We get a really good chuckle over that and like to say our flapper pie made a $1-million dollar deal turn into a $10-million dollar deal."