Smiling Moose keeps them smiling

January 6, 6:27 AMDenver Dining ExaminerStan Dyer

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Success story faces stiff competition

There’s a new sheriff in town, or should I say moose?  Beginning in the Vail Valley in 2003, Smiling Moose Deli has continued to expand its franchise carrying its mission statement and hometown way of doing business across the state.  If they have not set up shop in your neighborhood yet, keep your eyes open.  I recently visited the new store in Arvada near the Lowe’s on 53rd and I liked what I saw.  Smiling Moose has something for everyone.  

Serving eight varieties of breakfast sandwich all day long, as well as 12 varieties of hot sandwiches, nine varieties of cold sandwich and six wraps, you are bound to find something that piques your interest.  They have meat for the carnivores, non-meat for the vegetarians and plain, whole wheat, spinach or red chili tortillas for the low-carbers.  They make their own bagels fresh daily, they offer two sizes of sandwich and they even offer a variety of soups and salads.  If none of that suits you, you can build your own sandwich on your choice of rye, sour dough, multi-grain, wheat, Kaiser roll, French bread, focaccia or a bagel.  You can even choose one of the tortilla wraps.  They offer baked goods for dessert and provide a catering service.  Variety certainly is no problem at this full-service deli.  

On my initial visit, I tried the hot “Green Thumb” and the cold “Hippie Chick” sandwiches.  The Green Thumb is a grilled, vegetarian sandwich with spinach, artichokes, roasted red peppers, mushrooms, olives, tomatoes, sunflower seeds, pesto mayonnaise and Swiss cheese that we chose to put on multi-grain bread.  The Hippie Chick is a cold, vegetarian sandwich featuring chickpeas, tahini, avocado, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, cilantro and cheddar cheese.  Both sandwiches, (as do all on the menu), come in small for $6.69 or large for $8.79.  They are really good, tasty sandwiches, but I have to worry about the price.  

Since this Smiling Moose is right next door to Chipotle, I am wondering if people won’t prefer to get a big, filling $5.95 to $6.96 burrito and save the $2.84 over the price of the big sandwiches at the Moose?  The Moose is definitely  a good alternative and definitely has a place in the market, but they also definitely will face stiff competition from lower priced competitors such as Chipotle and the five-dollar subs at Subway.  I like Smiling Moose, but even I can see that their stiffest competition will come from their own pricing structure, especially in a struggling economy.  Only time will tell.  In the meantime, I’ll just keep smiling and enjoying the great sandwiches.  

It's a full service deli

Plenty of healthy beverage choices

The grilled "Green Thumb"

The "Hippie Chick"