All Over Albany

Meet Mr. Debbie

A couple of weeks ago we told you about the sale of the Albany institution Debbie's Kitchen.

Well, Debbie, queen of sandwiches has turned over her scepter.

The sandwich king apparent is Tom Reiner, a 28-year-old Colonie native with a management background.

Meet Mr. Debbie.

Tom Reiner was looking to buy a coffee shop a few months ago, when he found the real estate listing for Debbie's Kitchen. That was the first time he'd heard of Debbie's, but he says it just felt like the perfect place.

A former postal worker and clothing store manager with a degree in phys ed, Tom doesn't sound like the first candidate you'd think of to take over a place that's so famous for its food. But his family has been running businesses for generations, and his business partner Bill Ashbough (pictured with Tom above) has 25 years of cooking and baking experience.

"I'm a quick learner," Reiner says. "And we don't want to change anything about Debbie's. We worked with Debbie for weeks to learn how she operates and what she orders. And we've kept the same employees on so we'll keep learning."

In addition to his employees, Reiner says his family will play a big part in running Debbie's. "My dad was in helping to fix some things up. My mom brought us a pie the other day -- she just wants to be a part of it. Family is very important to me."

Bill and Tom want to keep up with Debbie's catering business and maybe add lunch delivery to the menu. They've also been busy trying to decipher Debbie's cookbook. "Debbie's got her own language -- a clump of this or that. We've got to re-write it so we can follow it," Tom laughs.

But part of the allure of Debbie's was the constant invention of new foods. "Yep, that's our big challenge," Tom agrees. "But we're working on it. Just today we were talking about the BPT instead of the BLT -- something with bacon and potato salad. Debbie had 25 years of that creative mentality. I think a lot of that comes with experience."

And then there's the Debbie factor. "I love Debbie" Tom says. "She's amazing. And her personality has always been such a big part of this place. I realize I'm not her. But I'm other good things. And I'll get to know people."

"Debbie will always be here," he says. "Her pictures are still on the wall and she'll always be a part of this place. She ran it for 25 years. She was 28 when she started it and I'm 28 now. Let's see what I can do."