22 March 14th-March 20th, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | Jill’s mother wanted Grodzinsky to stop. After much pleading, Eleanor took a different approach. “One night she took a stack of dishes and threw them on the floor. She said, ‘That’s it, you’re done,’” Jill says with a laugh. “He didn’t take new (catering) jobs after that.” Jill was 12 when she met the new dish- washer, George, who was 15. Over the years, Jill says he liked her but was inti- mated with all that comes with being the boss’ daughter. They were in their 20s when the sparks officially flew. “My parents always loved George,” Jill says. The couple got married and took on more restaurant responsibilities. They raised their only child, Josh Garcia, in the business. After school, Josh did his homework while sitting on a pickle bucket behind the serving line. At the former Christown loca- tion, there was a long wood plank on a staircase used to move merchandise into a downstairs storage space. “I remember sliding down that piece of wood,” Josh says, also recalling sitting on a stool as he watched his grandfather slice salami or corned beef. “He would slice a few slices and eat a few slices. Mom would yell ‘Stop eating!’” Josh recalls. “He’d say, ‘I’m not eating, I’m just tasting.’” Josh’s first official Miracle Mile job was when he was 11. He stood on a milk crate so he could see over the counter and serve coffee to customers on Saturday mornings. Going into the family busi- ness was never assumed by Josh or his parents, who didn’t push the idea. He studied for a while in London and thought he’d stay there. But family and Arizona beckoned and he returned to learn the ropes. Within three months, Josh found himself managing the Glendale location after the manager became ill. He was 21 and in charge of a 6,000-square-foot restaurant and 15 employees. “That’s a lesson, you learn to grow up very quickly,” he says. After years of hands-on learning, Josh is now vice president of Miracle Mile and handles the day-to-day operations after adapting the restaurant to changing times. “Josh took it to the next level. When George and I took over, we took it to another level,” Jill says. “But we’ve always prided ourselves on a family atmosphere, cleanliness and quality. Those staples keep you in business.” A place to belong Regular customer Condron’s childhood Miracle Mile location was at Christown Spectrum. As she got older, she frequented the Scottsdale and Camelback Colonnade locations, which were close to her workplaces. Today, Condron’s family has season tickets to Grand Canyon University basket- ball games and the restaurant is a conve- nient pregame spot between their north Phoenix home and the university. Right now, the Hungarian stuffed cabbage is Condron’s go-to. She’s also had a baked cod phase and called the beef stew “phenomenal.” But the food is just one reason she’s been a decades-long regular. “It’s the connection and friendliness of the people who are there and seeing familiar faces,” Condron says. “You feel like a regular even when time may lapse… like I belong.” A boss and benefactor Greg Rivera was 16 when he approached Grodzinsky at the restaurant’s Park Central location in 1974. Grodzinsky was wiping down tables when Rivera, who knew no English, asked him for a job through a Spanish speaker. Grodzinsky agreed but on the condition he would commit for more than a single paycheck. Rivera assured him he would. “Every few years I’d remind him, ‘It’s been five years…it’s been 10 years, been 15,’” Rivera recalls. Forty years to the day after that first conversation, Rivera retired from Miracle Mile. He started a handyman business and still goes to the restaurant every few days to say hello and do minor repairs. Rivera has been through the highs and lows of the restaurant, through expansions and closures. He knows the quality of the ingredients, the customer service that always feels personable and how the size of the famous sandwiches causes jaws to drop. “I saw all the things that make you want to go back,” he says. Rivera still has an institutional knowl- edge of who Grodzinsky was as a boss and man. And he has stories for days. Back when Miracle Mile had liver on the menu, Grodzinsky taught Rivera how to clean it and how it’s easier to slice when frozen. When Rivera was in his 20s, he strug- gled to pay rent and keep a roof over the heads of his wife and two children. When Grodzinsky found out, he bought Rivera a house. Rivera made the mortgage payments to him. “I’m getting choked up now,” Rivera says. After a long pause and a deep inhale he continues. “What more can I tell you about a man that would literally take the shirt off his back and give it to me?” Rivera talks about a rough childhood in Mexico with his father. He says Grodzinsky helped him pick up the pieces of a broken home life. “But, he took care of a lot of people, not just me,” Rivera says. “I wish there were more men like him. The man that is most like him is Josh.” ‘Our Katz’s Deli’ While a third generation helms Miracle Mile, Mark Asher’s sons are his family’s third generation of Miracle Mile customers. Born and raised in Arizona, Asher has been going to the deli for most of his life. When he was a kid visiting his dad at the office, they’d walk across the street to the Park Central location. It was a treat. Asher has been getting the same thing for 42 years: The Straw, and always on an onion roll. “As a kid, I remember it being huge. I’m pretty sure my dad and I shared it,” says Asher, who lives in Peoria and visits the midtown Phoenix restaurant about 10 times a year, usually with his three sons. “I grew up on it and love it. And I love how my kids love it now.” It’s also a spot where you can get a true East Coast sandwich. Asher’s New York City relatives who’ve tried it say the food is just as good. Asher calls it “our version of Katz’s Deli.” Asher has recognized the same faces behind the counter, around the tables and greeting him at the entrance for decades. He’s also witnessed George and Josh talk to customers and not just run the business from afar. When Josh sees Asher, he packs a side of pickles for him to take home because he knows his sons love them. “Little stuff like that, seeing my kids enjoy what I enjoyed… Sometime down the road, it’s something their kids will enjoy with their dad,” Asher says. And whether it’s a long-time patron raving about the beef stew, a dad creating third-generation customers or a former employee tearing up while talking about his boss’ generosity, George is always up for hearing it. “A lot of people want to share their Miracle Mile stories,” George says. “What a pleasure it is to talk to them and they say, ‘I remember when…’” Miracle Mile Deli 4433 N. 16th St. Miracle Mile Deli founder Jack Grodzinsky stands outside the former Park Central Mall location, circa 1991. (Photo courtesy of Miracle Mile Deli) Major Mileage from p 20