‘Wild’: Owner of viral Sydney cafe responds to shock decision

The owner of an Instagram-famous cafe has been forced to respond after receiving severe backlash for refusing to serve their iconic sandwich over the weekend.

When Myra Karakelle decided to leave her marketing job and law degree behind to open a sandwich shop in Surry Hills, Sydney, she never expected the deli to become a viral sensation.

“The corporate world just wasn’t really rewarding or gave me any satisfaction,” Ms Karakelle told news.com.au.

So, after Covid prompted her to make a career change, she set her sights on opening a “hole in the wall” sandwich shop, something intimate and local.

And her gamble paid off.

Since opening in March, MLK Deli quickly outgrew the quaint vision she had for it.

“We definitely didn’t think it would be a ‘destination’ spot where people would travel just to try our food,” she admits. “The original plan was just to serve our community – but it was incredibly rewarding and uplifting to see such a positive response”.

On weekends, people from across Sydney and even Australia line up to try their famous sandwiches, with “wild” queues often snaking down the street.

Much of this buzz, Ms Karakelle says, is thanks to the now-legendary Risky Brisket sandwich, which catapulted them into the Instagram and TikTok foodie spotlight.

The sandwich became a viral hit thanks to its generous 170-180 gram portion of grass-fed brisket.

“It’s a labour of love,” she laughs. “We brine each slab of brisket for six to seven days, then on the day of serving, we start early at around 5am, rub it with our house spices, smoke it for a few hours, then cook it further”.

To assemble the sandwich, they add melted Swiss cheese and some sauerkraut, and serve it with a side of pickles and salt-and-vinegar chips.

MLK Deli in Surry Hills has become Insta famous. Picture: Instagram/mlk.deli

Now, the owner Myra Karakelle has been forced to respond to some backlash. Picture: Instagram/mlk.deli

It costs $22.90, and if that seems steep, it doesn’t seem to scare off many customers.

“We go through about 15 to 20 kilos of brisket daily, and on crazy days, we sell around 250 sandwiches until we run out,” Ms Karakelle explains.

When demand exceeds supply, fans flood Google reviews and social media to rant about missing out.

And that’s exactly what happened this weekend – all because the deli couldn’t put the famous sandwich on the menu on one of the days.

“The brisket came out of the oven and didn’t meet our quality standards,” she says. “We had used a different supplier due to current beef supply issues, and it just wasn’t tender enough”.

Despite knowing they could “get away with” still using the brisket by adding extra sauces or slicing it thinner, Ms Karakelle says that wasn’t an option for her.

“These are all shortcuts and just not the right thing to do,” she said.

The Risky Brisket is the deli’s most popular sandwich. Picture: Instagram/mlk.deli

It uses grass-fed brisket. Picture: Instagram/mlk.deli

When fans came to the counter disappointed, some quickly took to the internet to vent.

“My phone was blowing up, people were spamming us, and we were getting all these one-star reviews,” she recalls. “I thought, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me’ – it broke my heart”.

Wanting to address the backlash in one go, she decided to make a TikTok video explaining what had happened.

“Even if some people hate us, at least they can understand why we made that decision. It wasn’t because ‘We don’t know how to supply our shop properly,’ as some suggested – it was an issue of quality,” she explains.

Over the weekend, they couldn’t put the sandwich on the menu due to quality issues. Picture: Instagram/mlk.deli

Support flooded in from commenters and fans.

“You actually chose to be a responsible business and not serve a bad product?! Please don’t apologise! You did the right thing!” read one comment.

Another added, “I’d much rather that than be served something rubbish! Good on you for taking pride in what you serve”.

Despite the tough couple of days, Ms Karakelle is hopeful that the ordeal will only further promote their high standards to customers.

“If this can serve as a reminder of how we operate, then there’s a lesson in that. Like all the bad things, they happen for a reason,” she says.

Originally published as ‘Wild’: Owner of viral Sydney cafe responds to shock decision