El Chapo Burger at Brian’s North End Store & Deli Credit: Courtesy of Brian's North End Store & Deli

The sandwiches were good. But financially, they weren’t cutting the mustard.  After fleshing out its  culinary offerings in October 2018, Brian’s  North End Store & Deli will close on March 1. “The owner [Brian Moegelin] needed to expand his auto business,” store manager Tammy Lacroix-Hopkins told Seven Days on Thursday.

The Burlington convenience store and hot-lunch counter enjoyed a hungry loyal following — many North End locals made regular visits for cook Steve Wilson’s pulled pork sandwiches, fried chicken, and mac-and-cheese burgers.

But in the end, fixing folks’ broken cars is more lucrative than filling their bellies, and the bottom line won out. “They’re going to tear out [the whole store]” Lacroix-Hopkins said, “and add more garages.” 

Hannah Palmer Egan was a Seven Days food writer from 2014-2019. She was a 2017 James Beard Journalism Award finalist for her coverage of Vermont's food and agriculture industries, and received food writing awards from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia. She lives in northeast Pennsylvania with her family, where she works in the outdoor lifestyle and adventure tourism industry.