Blitz’s fitting in well in Court House

Bold move or bad move? That was the question heard around Cape May Court House in the summer of 2006. A “Blitz’s, Coming Soon!” sign heralded another addition to the Main Street culinary scene, and the sign teased passersby for months.
Would opening a deli shop/grocery in an area where there are so many options be sustainable? A few blocks to the south are Wawa and a pizza place. A few blocks to the west are Avalon Coffee and Bagel and Hug-its. A quarter-mile to the north is 7-Eleven, four fast-food chain restaurants, two pizza places and two national chain grocery stores.
“We had more than several customers convey to us that they thought we should have a location in Cape May Court House, which has so many office buildings and local residents, and we knew it would be a good place for a year-round store,” said Blitz’s Ken Merritt, a regional manager who operates the Sea Isle location in the summer.
“While there are (businesses) that do a similar operation, there’s a whole package we do above and beyond what other people do,” Merritt said. “Not many places have fresh, sliced lunchmeat and cheese, hot and cold sandwiches, fresh-cut filet, fresh-made salads, pizza, burgers, dinner buckets, party trays and a line of groceries. As a kid growing up, you went into a Mom and Pop shop where they had a little bit of everything. That’s the idea here: You try to cater to as many people as you can.”
The owners of the Blitz’s Markets – Frank and Monica DiRenzo, who have a business partner in Dave Newman for a couple of their stores – decided to hold off on opening their seventh store until October, after the seasonal stores in the operation were closed for the season.
“A lot of the thinking behind that was to have the right people in (Cape May Court House) to make the grand opening work while not spreading (our employees) too thin,” Merritt said. “You don’t want to be training people while you’re trying to open a new store. You have to have the right people in place to make it work. And these people here have made this store work. We have a very friendly staff.”
It reminds me of walking into a South Philly corner deli, where you’re greeted with, “What can I get for you today, hon?” and, “Whaddya need, babe?”
Merritt, an Ocean City High School graduate who’s been working for Blitz’s for 15 years, said the October opening went very well, and the follow-up business over the holidays was phenomenal.
“The first couple weeks after we opened, the community really welcomed us. There was a great outpouring of thanks. People were literally thanking us for being here,” he said. “We did outstanding numbers the first couple weeks.”
The concern was whether it would last.
“We worried that once the novelty wore off, the people would go elsewhere,” Merritt said, “but the people seem very happy with our store. We had an outstanding holiday season. We prepared tons of party trays and a lot of filet. The week before Christmas alone we did 100 party trays for area businesses and for private parties. We have a full party tray menu, from rolled luncheon meats, to hoagies, wraps, sandwiches, wing trays, mozzarella sticks, shrimp trays…everything was (selling).”
Two of the best buys at the store are the luncheon meats and cheeses, and the filet mignon, which can be bought whole or butchered to order.
“We have a full line of the best Dietz and Watson meats and cheeses that are higher quality and less expensive than anyone else’s,” Merritt said, “and, of course, the filet mignon cut to order is $5.99 a pound right now and that will go up to $6.99 depending on the market price.”
Whole filets average about six to seven pounds and can be purchased that way or employees will butcher it according to the customer’s needs. One woman in the store said she even takes the whole filet home and chips it to use for various recipes, even for cheesesteaks.
Filet mignon cheesesteaks?
“Sure, why not? The better the meat, the better the sandwich,” she said. “Once you have a filet cheesesteak, it’s tough to have it any other way.”
Added Merritt, “We can trim the filet as a roast or cut it into steaks whatever thickness you want. We can different things for whatever people want to (cook). Some people tell us they want it for stir fry, so we’ll trim it for them for that. Whatever people want. That’s the whole idea. We’ll do whatever we can possible to meet the customer’s needs.”