Yohan’s Deli to close after nearly two decades serving the Riverdale community

For nearly two decades, a small Riverdale deli by West 260th Street has been more than a place to grab breakfast or lunch. When Yohan’s Deli closes June 21 after 18 years, it will mark the end of a journey that began thousands of miles away in Mexico.

Josue Guerrero Arena and Reyna Silva Ruize arrived in the United States seeking opportunities they could not find at home. Guerrero Arena came in 1997 from Tehuitzingo, a small village in the Mexican state of Puebla, while Silva Ruize arrived from Izúcar de Matamoros in 2000. Both came without legal status and, like many newly arrived immigrants, started with little.

In New York, the couple met while renting rooms in the same crowded house, where as many as 15 people shared the space. They began dating within a month of meeting and spent their early years working long hours and saving whatever they could.

Silva Ruize found work at the deli where Yohan’s stands today under its previous owner, Sam Saleem. Guerrero Arena worked in the fish market business in Yonkers. Though money was tight, they shared a goal of owning a business themselves and saved enough to purchase the deli in 2007. The business brought in just $90 on its first day, they said.

The years that followed were difficult as the couple learned the business from the ground up, navigating everything from inventory and pricing to customer service while growing their family.

“The first five years were tough here, because with them being new to this business, they didn’t really understand what they were doing,” their son and the deli’s namesake, Yohan Guerrero Silva, said.

Speaking in Spanish and translated by Yohan Guerrero Silva, Guerrero Arena said owning a business had always been a dream of his. After years of working for others, he viewed the deli as an opportunity to build something for his family and become part of the neighborhood.

“[I] spoke to a lot of people in the community [and said] the prices are going to be good here, that we’re under new management, and that we’re essentially going to build our business around them, whatever they need, we’re going to provide,” Guerrero Arena said.

That approach helped transform the deli into a neighborhood institution.

Yohan Guerrero Silva, now 20 and studying architecture at New York Institute of Technology, became emotional while describing his childhood there.

“Whenever my dad needed help, [me and my siblings] were here,” he said. “I remember going to school a bit early and I would come help my dad when it was so busy.”

Rather than hiring babysitters, Guerrero Arena and Silva Ruize often brought their children to work. Andy, Yohan, Yoel, Natalie and Raul spent much of their childhood at the deli, growing up among the shelves, grill and cash register as the business grew to be a second home.

The store became woven into daily life in the neighborhood. Students from nearby schools stopped in before and after class. Postal workers picked up breakfast and lunch. Elderly residents dropped by to chat. Some customers came for sandwiches, while others came simply because they felt at home there.

Few people witnessed the family’s journey more closely than Desiree White, who has worked in the nearby post office for 32 years.

“We watched this family, this woman had these children. We watched her from when they was in her stomach to now,” White said.

Yoel Guerrero Silva said growing up in the deli allowed him to build friendships with generations of neighborhood children.

“Every year we have new kids start coming to school, and then they start growing up,” he said, referring to the several nearby schools. “I always build connections with the students. I like chatting with them, talking to friends.”

The family’s success came with sacrifices. Last year, after more than two decades in the United States, Guerrero Arena and Silva Ruize returned to Mexico for the first time in 26 years after obtaining permanent residency through Yoel Guerrero Silva, who joined the U.S. military.

Watching his parents’ sacrifices over the years, Yoel Guerrero Silva said, left a lasting impression.

“My parents are like the heroes, they wake up even when they’re tired, they come because they have a family to feed,” he said. “Right now they put three kids to college, so they’re my motivation, they’re my idols.”

According to the family, the decision to leave Riverdale was driven largely by rising costs — particularly rising rent and the need to purchase and install new equipment tied to building insurance requirements.

Building management could not be reached for comment.

The closure has been especially difficult for Yohan Guerrero Silva, whose name has been on the storefront since childhood.

“I think because my name is on the place I just have a connection to it,” he said. “It hurts me, but it hurts my soul. I don’t need it. It’s like a part of me.”

Despite the sadness, the family is preparing for a new chapter. They recently purchased a home in Orange County, New York and plan to open another deli there.

Yoel Guerrero Silva translated a final message from his parents, expressing gratitude to the customers, neighbors and members of St. Margaret’s Church across the street, who supported the family throughout their nearly two decades in the neighborhood.

“The community is the reason that we’ve been able to go to college and promote a better life,” they said.