Maurice’s Sandwich Shops

Breakfast and lunch (but really, lunch only) place open 930 – 230 weekdays that serves very basic deli sandwiches very well, without real deli features. Catering available but it’s not clear what the parameters are for size, delivery, etc.
They have a total of 12 sandwiches (standard cold deli) and 4 salads on the menu, plus a few sides (mac salad, cole slaw, etc.), chips and a limited selection of drinks (soft drinks in bottles, milk in the carton, Snapple). The sandwiches aren’t fancy but they’re tasty.
The staff are super, super friendly and it’s a serious regulars/​neighborhood joint, a solid part of the old Woodlawn neighborhood even though the particular location here has only been open for a little over a decade. They sponsor Little League teams, the cops come here to eat, that sort of place. Salt of the earth.
The roast beef deserves the reputation, it’s quite good — it’s not classic rare deli cut, but a medium-​well shaved, almost chipped concoction, served warm on rolls (although you can get rye bread or a sub roll if you want). It’s not huge but is filling, maximum sandwich prices are $ 6.35 at this writing. You know you should try their horseradish spread, right, not the mustard? OK, good. Pickle included but without any other sides; side salads run $ 2.65 for what amounts to a single serving. They have really excellent soups, served in styrofoam bowls, limited to two a day in rotation. Half sandwich and the soup make a really decent meal.
The layout inside is really odd and awkward: a tiny little sandwich counter with trays and you rotate back to your left to the checkout, but the sandwich counter doesn’t have a place to put the sandwiches near the trays. Just grab them when you can. The seating is mostly two-​person booths along a bowling-​alley layout, with a couple of larger tables in the rear without windows. Don’t miss the old clippings and turn of the last century Schenectady photos. Restroom not great; out of towels and a little, um, drippy.
That said, solid middle of the road sandwiches at a fun neighborhood joint.
Here’s the Maurice’s story:
This started out its first incarnation after The War as a cafeteria in the YWCA in Schenectady, back when the Y was one of those central civic locations in every city. It moved over to the historic Nicholaus Building in the 1970’s (built in the 1890s; the façade says 1901, but that was a remodel)) in the current location of Bangkok Bistro, at the corner of State and Erie, what was once the very heart of downtown Schenectady in the day when it had three times as many residents.
Maurice’s then branched out a bit, adding shops in Colonie and in downtown Albany, and the location here in Woodlawn in the early 2000s. Then, of course, they closed the downtown branch as Schenectady hit the tail end of its deindustrializing skids. So the «original» Maurice’s is gone, but the satellites live on, largely as sandwich shops, not true delis.
The distinction here is this is the Maurice’s still in Schenectady, so they inherited the yellowed clippings and Schenectady verve.

Pretty good deli sandwich place. Service is quick and easy and they have a ton of seating. Pretty much their only negative is that the food slightly pricey for lunch.

The best roast beef around town great price super staff must do as much as possible

Decent place for deli sandwiches made to order with quick service. They also offer breakfast sandwiches, homemade soups, green salads, cold salads, bagged chips, New England Coffee, and cold drinks. Popular sandwich specials are offered such as Any Half Sandwich & Soup for $ 4.85 and Whole Sandwich (crab, chicken, or tuna salad) with Soup & Small Pepsi fountain drink for $ 6.95, a great deal!
When I stop in for lunch, I enjoy the Crab Seafood Salad (blend of snow crab & pollock) Sandwich with a cup of soup. The sandwich is decent, but it’s not really that big of a sandwich. If available, I’ll get the Cream of Potato with Bacon is very rich and tasty.