Carlos Ramirez never expected to say goodbye this soon. Neither did the customers who crowded the Tomales Deli and Café to bid him farewell last week. He had worked in the popular neighborhood sandwich shop for 20 years and owned it for more than a decade. Still just 58, Mr. Ramirez had hoped to keep making sandwiches there until he retired.
But on Friday, he served his last steak bagel and his last artichoke-pesto chicken sandwich, two of the many trademark items on his highly personalized menu.
“It’s American, my style,” said Mr. Ramirez, who came to the United States from El Salvador 38 years ago. “Nobody makes artichoke pesto how I make it. Nobody makes cordon bleu how I make it. Nobody else makes a Vilma’s sandwich.”
That last one is named after his daughter, one of several Ramirez kids who have helped at the deli over the years.
“The Vilma is my favorite,” said Allie Sherman, who has been a regular at the deli since she began teaching at Tomales High School four years ago. “It’s on ciabatta bread with chili verde pork, cilantro sauce, cheese and mushrooms, and it’s amazing.”
Mr. Ramirez sold his extensive array of hot sandwiches for just $12—a veritable bargain in West Marin, where a sandwich can cost upwards of $25. Regular deli sandwiches were just $10.
“When I bought the business, I didn’t do it to make money,” Mr. Ramirez said. “I did it because I wanted to work for myself. Money to me is nothing. Friends—other people—are very important in my life. That’s why my prices are low.”
But inflation, increased competition and his reluctance to raise prices eventually took such a toll that Mr. Ramirez was forced to declare bankruptcy and close shop. Disagreements with his landlord contributed to his decision, he said, but he had several years left on his lease and could have remained if the numbers had added up.
He reached his decision reluctantly. “I’ve been here every day for 20 years, taking care of the community, when it rains, when it’s cold, when there’s no power,” he said.
Mr. Ramirez first learned about the deli when his sister Raquel began working there in the mid-aughts under the previous owner, Joanna Rosenfeld. At the time, he was working seven days a week as the head chef at the Rooster Run Golf Club in Petaluma, where he oversaw banquets for hundreds of people.
When Raquel died in a car crash in 2008, Ms. Rosenfeld asked if he could join her team. She was short-staffed, business was slow and she needed extra hands. Mr. Ramirez agreed to work on weekends and later decided to come on board full time.
When he first started, the deli was only open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mr. Ramirez immediately expanded the hours, serving customers from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., a big plus for people in a village with few dining options.
His first addition to the menu was breakfast, including pancakes, French toast, omelets and the Marin McMuffin, which became one of the deli’s most popular offerings. Another favorite was the Thanksgiving sandwich, served on a sweet roll with turkey, homemade stuffing, cranberry sauce and mayo.
When he told his boss at the golf club that he was leaving for the deli, she responded that he was crazy. He was earning $38 an hour plus an occasional bonus; he would start at $10 an hour at the deli. “You’re the man here!” he remembers her saying. “You’re the king! Why do you want to leave?”
Mr. Ramirez felt he owed Ms. Rosenfeld a debt of gratitude for giving his sister a job when she needed one. “She helped my sister, and I wanted to repay her,” he said.
He figured God someday would repay him in return. “I always say, God puts angels in my path.”
Mr. Ramirez is hoping the next one will somehow find a way to bring him back to Tomales, perhaps in a food truck. He’s looking for one to buy, and a loyal customer has said they would allow him to park it on their property.
For now, he and his wife, Esmerelda, who has been working at his side in Tomales for the last eight years, are opening a new shop in a small space in Petaluma, at the South City Market.
“We’re going to try it for three months and see how it goes,” said Esmerelda, who has developed the same rapport with customers that he has. “Leaving is really hard for us. My husband, his first priority all the time is the deli—almost more than family. At this point, he’s going to lose everything.”
Esmerelda has also applied to nursing school at Santa Rosa Junior College.
As news spread of their impending departure, disappointed customers weighed in on a local Facebook page.
“Oh, no! I can’t imagine Tomales without the deli!” one person wrote.
“I am deeply sad and unhappy about this turn of events,” said another. “I feel like this family has been a central part of the fabric of this village.”
Last Friday, Carlos and Esmerelda’s final day in town, about 40 customers showed up to say goodbye. Among them was Dru Fallon O’Neill, who came with two cakes, one a chocolate mousse cake, the other vanilla with cheesecake filling. Each bore the same message, in English and in Spanish: Goodbye with love. Adios con amor.
“The atmosphere was hopeful for Carlos,” Ms. O’Neill said. “He was showered with love.”
She bought a sandwich every day last week, including a Philly cheese steak, a French dip, a tuna melt and a Thanksgiving sandwich.
The deli is one of two retail spaces operating in the historic Piezzi Building, which once housed an auto repair shop and has been home to the Route 1 Bakery and Kitchen since 2020.
Like everyone else in Tomales, Ms. O’Neill is wondering what the property owners plan to do next with the space. Tamara Hicks, who owns the building with her husband, David Jablons, said they don’t yet know who the next tenant will be, although she did not rule out the possibility that the bakery might expand into the space. That establishment, which sells pizza by the slice in addition to beer and bakery items, has an outdoor seating area but no indoor dining area.
The bakery is owned by Shannon Gregory, who also operates Out the Door, a tiny takeout outpost of his popular bayside oyster joint, the Marshall Store. He did not respond to a request for comment.
For her part, Ms. Sherman hopes another affordable lunch spot moves in. The deli was popular with Tomales High seniors, who are allowed to eat off campus during their final year of school.
The offerings at the bakery and Out the Door are tasty but pricey for people on a budget, at $12 for a slice of pizza and as much as $20 for a taco plate.
“They’re really nice, but not accessible to regular people who just want to get lunch on their work breaks,” Ms. Sherman said.
Students and teachers were among the deli devotees who showed up to say goodbye on Friday.
“I told everybody that I’ll be back, because I’m part of Tomales,” Mr. Ramirez said.