LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
The KBG Deli, open since August 2021, started its Pay-It-Forward meal idea with a simple Facebook post over the holidays and it grew into a popular opportunity for customers who can’t afford a good meal.
As the holiday season started, the Deli posted a Nov. 20 message on Instagram to kick off their Pay-It-Forward efforts.
“Anyone who shops with us that would like to pay it forward, we will be selling not only meals, but also our deli products.
“Anyone who is struggling in these tough times will be able to come in and get a receipt for a meal or some meat and cheese that has been purchased by generous people in our community.”
Inside the historical-home-turned-deli, the refinished hardwood floors are a dark honey color and the walls boast a muted, modern color palette. Tables are situated in several different rooms throughout the deli.
A cooler near the counter is filled with homemade potato, macaroni and chicken salad and garden salads, and another is full of Boar’s Head hummus, chicken sausages, cooked bratwurst and pickles.
At the entrance to the sandwich shop, a small window painted with chalkboard paint lists the Pay-it-Forward basics of helping residents who have less.
When meals are paid for by Good Samaritans, the deli sticks the receipts on the window, giving those in need a chance to grab a paid-for meal.
Sheryl Dunn, mother of the deli’s owner Scott Dunn, helps run the deli on a regular basis.
She said that though pay-it-forward has slowed, people are still using the receipts.
“I just wish more people who need it, knew about it,” Dunn said. “We have all had tough times here and there. Just come in and use it.”
There is not a need to repay a free meal later, she said.
Owners Scott and Taylor Dunn originally planned to start a food truck business, when they began KBG, but that thought rapidly turned into a traditional brick-and-mortar storefront.
“What I was looking at spending to get a food truck, it was about the same as getting a building and doing it that way,” Scott Dunn said. “It was a food truck idea that grew and turned into a storefront.”
Their deli sandwich shop sells a lunch menu based around Boar’s Head meats and cheeses, and a variety of sandwiches.
Sheryl Dunn, who has waitressed and managed restaurants in the past, is originally from Frankfort, Ind.
“Two of my boys married girls from here,” she said, laughing, and so that led to the big move.
She said she’s worked at the deli since its opening, adding that it’s been great meeting everyone in town through the deli. Tuesday through Friday, the shop is open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon.