The Dijon Delicatessen is located on the north side
of the giant Simpang Siur roundabout. Over the years Dijon
has built up a steady clientele among the expat community
because of their fantastic breads and gourmet speciality
items. I always wanted to know how a deli was
run, so I pinned down Susan who, along with her son David,
founded the deli back in 1998.
Where do you come from?
I was born in Seattle during a blackout on the 8th of December
1941 following the attack on Pearl Harbour. I grew up in Tacoma
and graduated from the University of Washington
in French Language and Literature and immediately left
for a teaching position in Japan. I taught at Kobe Joshi Gakuin
and got fired after one year for wearing red (married ladies
not allowed) and sitting on the desk while teaching a la USA.
I spent some years in the hills of Kamakura then at the beach
of Hayama where I had my two children, Alex now 34 and David,
my boss, now 32. My last two years in Japan were spent in
Tokyo where I was doing some office and assistant work for
an architect in Roppongi.
How did you end up in Bali?
I first arrived in Menteng in Jakarta in April of 1976 and
went through total and horrible culture shock which lasted
quite a long time. Not wanting to be here didn’t help!
After the May riots in 1998, I decided that Jakarta just wasn't
a place I wanted to be. I had really no plan. I chased some
intercultural jobs in the States and when I got back, my son
said that he wanted to open a retail food outlet. And Bingo!
Dijon began to happen. I was totally involved in what to stock
and how to package things although most major decisions continued
to be made as a team with David at the head. I gave him lots
of “shopper perspective" and he in turn brought
lots of professional expertise to the enterprise.
What gave you the idea of starting a deli?
At the time we started the deli in 1998, even the concept
of a deli on Bali was totally new and different. The original
idea came from my son who was in the wholesale food business.
We first thought of meats only but eventually it evolved into
a retail outlet for gourmet foods. I gave some input. I found
there was a lack of decent bread on Bali, for example. This
is hard to believe because there are so many choices available
today. I also introduced the idea of selling small amounts
of things. At that time on Bali, gourmet shoppers couldn’t
get just 100 grams of capers. This is why from the very start
there were so many food item choices on the counter, so that
people COULD just get 100 grams of kalamata or cornichons.
How difficult was it to set up a deli?
It took some time and thought for sure! Aside from all
the normal things you have to do to acquire the official documents,
there were design issues – upstairs, downstairs, what
kind of counters, etc. I found it hard to imagine how it would
all work. Also trying to figure not only what people might
want, which was relatively easy for the basics, but how much
of it, how much variety, where to put it – lots of issues.
We decided from the beginning that we needed a bathroom since
the complex had a rather grotty one – this turned out
to have been one of our best decisions.
Which nationalities buy what?
Germans tend to look for good bread but people here are “internationalized”
enough that it is hard to see what “national tastes”
are. Of course, Australians are the lucky
customers since so many imports come from Oz and because
of them, we have things like home made Lamingtons. Some items
are difficult to get a hold of. At the moment, poultry products
from Oz are since importing them is now against Indonesian
regulations. Things that are expensive and really not
essential do not sell well now in post bomb Bali.
Everyone is more careful about shopping these days. Also,
there are more outlets now so people shop around
more.
What makes Dijon different from other delis operating in Bali?
We try to provide the very best quality we can along with
caring service. We aim to be part of the community, helping
each other, and not just another store with that impersonal
feeling. We have always wanted to be more than just a store
and that atmosphere, after almost 5 years, has only grown.
For this reason our motto is “DIJON, it’s more
than just a store”. We also try to connect people since
DIJON is a kind of gathering place and lots of people come
through here. People looking for houses to rent, looking for
jobs or staff, etc.
I am also planning to teach the people in my banjar how to
make kids’ furniture from coke cans. I will supply the
cans and the expertise if they the supply the effort. Another example
of community service is our monthly book swap, started in
early 2003, which takes place in the open-air café
in front of the deli.
How did you come up with your book swap idea?
Basically, because I had tons of books in my house and needed
to do something with them. The swap helps people dispel the
insecurity of not having 2-3 books lined up to read. It has
become really popular since a lot of people here
actually don't have the money to buy new books all the time.
Especially after the bomb, people have became really careful
about their spending habits. There is no charge for anything
and that makes people happy.
For anyone interested in being considered for Siapa, please
send your CV to : pakbill2003@yahoo.com
Copyright@2004 Al Hickey
You can read all past articles of Siapa
at www.BaliAdvertiser.biz
