“This is the worst news of the year.” That’s how one commenter on the New Paltz Community Facebook page greeted the revelation that Abdul Joulani is about to retire after 33 years in business as the proprietor of Jack’s Meats & Deli. Tuesday, October 29 will be Abdul’s last day of running the downtown shop, ably assisted by his brother Ibrahim, before handing over the keys to the new tenants.
The best news, according to Abdul, is that he’ll be spending a couple of weeks training the new owners to continue delivering the quality products and services that New Paltz has been taking for granted all these years. “They’re a family from Brooklyn: Jude and Moe Mubarez. They own a couple of delis in Brooklyn. There’s a kid who goes to SUNY New Paltz. They love this area and decided to find a way to move up here full-time,” Abdul explains. “The name is going to stay the same.”
That name dates back to 1968, when the original owner, Jack Provenzano, opened the business. “Jack was mainly running it as a butcher’s, with very little on the deli side — though he did make his own turkey, roast beef and meatballs,” Abdul recalls. “I continued doing that, and upgraded the butcher’s products from commercial to local and organic.”
A native of Jordan, Abdul came to New Paltz in the early 1980s and enrolled at SUNY with the intent of studying engineering, but never completed his degree. An automotive hobbyist, he began working as a mechanic at local gas stations. It was a youthful romance that swerved his career path into carving up meats and creating legendary sandwiches.
“I used to go out with Jack’s daughter, Donna. I was hanging out in here for a couple of years,” Abdul relates. Jack offered him a part-time job and trained him in the skills of butchering and running a small business. “Eventually Jack decided to get out of the store, so I bought it. That was in 1991.”
With the transfer of ownership came a customer base that was already loyal, and both Abdul and Ibrahim have cemented that relationship over the ensuing decades with their combination of superior products, hard work and easygoing temperaments. Jack’s has long been the go-to place in New Paltz for high-end, locally sourced meats and cold cuts, or to order something special for a holiday meal.
“My cuts of meat you’re not going to find in a supermarket. It’s custom-cut,” Abdul says. “We carry exotic meats like pheasant, duck, even alligator and emu. The biggest thing for the holidays is fresh organic turkeys. We have geese and prime rib for Christmas, brisket for the Jewish holidays, lamb for Easter and Passover.”
As we chatted on his last weekend on the job, longtime patrons came and went, expressing their dismay that they soon won’t be able to find the Joulani brothers behind the counter anymore. The prevailing tone of the interactions was the sort of lighthearted banter that comes easily between people who have known each other for years, but there were plenty of hugs as well.
“This week has been really hard — all these people coming in,” Abdul admits. “Some of them I knew when they were single, and then they had kids, and some of them have grandkids now.”
Though they will miss the Joulanis, locals seem in solid agreement that their retirement has been well-earned, judging by the farewells and words of praise posted on social media. “I don’t believe I’ve ever, after all these years, seen either Abdul or Ibrahim when they weren’t behind the counter,” wrote Jeremiah Horrigan. “Hardworking, friendly and candid when I asked for local or even international info with my ham and cheese. Great guys.”
Abdul himself says that he habitually put in more than 100 hours a week at the store. Now, he’s looking forward to taking more advantage of the outdoor recreation that the area has to offer, as he did back in his student days. “I’m going to be active. I’ve been indoors for 33 years,” he says. “I’ve got a couple of old cars; I’ve got to go work on them — a 1980 Camaro and a 1972 Jeep Scout.”
He also has plans to do some traveling. “I’m going to finish America. In all these years I’ve never made it to California. I want to see Yellowstone Park. And I have friends in Vermont and Maine who have invited me to come up and visit.”
Abdul’s not planning to leave the area permanently, though. He will continue to be the owner of the building where Jack’s is located, at 79 Main Street. There’s a backlog of maintenance work needing to be done on his home in Modena as well. When that’s caught up, he’s thinking about doing some volunteer work in the community. “The library and the Rescue Squad have asked me to be a volunteer,” he says. “I’ve lived in New Paltz for 44 years. This is my hometown.”
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