To Go Service

Please visit the Yellow Deli in Boulder, Colorado. We are just one block up the street from the Pearl Street walking mall.

In August 2023, we temporarily closed our Yellow Deli for much-needed repairs and renovations. As the scope of the project becomes clearer, we will announce a re-opening date. You can still come visit us at our Community and Hostel. Here is a link to our address and phone: 

https://twelvetribes.org/community/rutland 

Our Hikers Hostel is now closed until the 2026 hiking season begins; we hope to see you then.

Feel free to contact us.   Phone (802) 683-9378

                                  Email-hikers@hikershostel.org

https://hikershostel.org

We opened our doors to the people of Oneonta, New York in February 2010 after three years of work on our two-story deli. We are (normally) open 24-hours a day, 5 days a week, from Sunday at noon till Friday at 3 p.m, but we currently have limited hours, closing from 3am until 11am.

In Oneonta we have the privilege of serving many locals, as well as students from Oneonta's two colleges: Hartwick College and SUNY Oneonta. We also are visited by travelers who wander into town from the nearby exit off Interstate 88. We are located on the corner of Routes 7 and 23 which is also one of two entrances into Oneonta’s old downtown.

Folks love to warm themselves by either of our fireplaces and watch our dumb waiter ride up and down bringing them their scrumptious sandwiches. They are discovering the irresistible sourdough artisan breads that our lovely bakers created that day. We also have open forum Rap Sessions every Tuesday night at 7 p.m. that we would love for you to come and join us. Walk around and enjoy murals on the brick or barn wood walls painting tales of birds of every feather flocking together in one tree, or reviving the mystery of what happened to the Movements of the ’60s and ’70s.

If you’re from New England, you may have been in one of our other places unaware. We’ve also run eating places called “The Common Ground Café”, “The Blue Blinds Bakery”, “The Oak Hill Kitchen” and “The Yellow Deli in Rutland, VT”.

If you’re ever down around this way and want to get out of the hustle bustle of the world; want a quiet place to study or think, or just want some peace of mind, you’ll have to stop in and set a spell.

In the late fall of 2006, we opened our humble little farmstand on Lilac with a pop-up tent and a plastic table. We offered coffee, hot yerba maté, muffins and an array of fresh homegrown organic produce. Soon after, we started selling homemade apple pies for the holiday season.

We did all we could to make it a nice place for our neighbors to stop by. The little house behind our stand was nearly in ruins, yet there was a hope of restoration in our hearts. We had the vision that someday our sleepy little farmstand would be a warm and welcoming place to sit and have a steamed sandwich or a dessert. But it was going to need some tender loving care and lot of hard work.

We started by sweeping the steps and pulling out the weeds. Then we painted our little house a bright cheery yellow. We knew The Yellow Deli (even a little one) would be the perfect spot for all of our neighbors to come and find some old-fashioned hospitality. It is nestled in a peaceful valley, far from any other retail establishment. Out in the country, our farmstead is shaded by big ancient oaks, kept company by the cows in the surrounding pastures and is nicely located next to year round Keys Creek.

When we first set out, our little bubbling brook was hidden behind wild overgrowth, but we dreamed of a day when we could offer hospitality to our neighbors as they sat by creek side tables. So we put our “hands to the plow” and without looking back, began the work of restoration at our little farmstead.
Over a period of two years, the dilapidated, old Sears kit house was transformed into a cozy nook, where all are welcome to come, for a bit of rest and reprieve from the fast-paced modern life.

The overgrowth was cleared out, right down to the creek and is slowly, but surely blossoming into a lovely little garden. We acquired a mobile kitchen and through much effort converted it into a quaint Deli kitchen.

Now our mobile kitchen lives next door to our beautiful little farmstead and from there we serve our delicious Deli menu items. In early spring of 2011, we opened up our little Deli on Lilac Road and now our neighbors can behold the vision we sought after. We have an inviting place to meet and serve our neighbors, and offer them good food, fresh produce and a place to belong. 

Long ago in the old village of Vista an idea sprouted... Wouldn't it be nice to have a place in this unusually quiet and uncrowded part of Southern California for a pleasant place where we could meet friends and serve good food...

So, early in the year of 2003 this property was acquired on Broadway... an old one room dilapidated building stood next to the old Adobe offices. That little building was torn down and then began a very long process of learning for us. We got to know about building permits, architects, engineers, many fees, etc. Finally, after many trials and even more errors, we began building our Deli in 2008.

From the ground up, our nice Deli building began to take shape. And after many more difficulties and many more fees, building permits, architects, and engineers, we finally finished the task. It took seven years all together. On Feb. 14, 2010 we opened our doors.

So, the nice idea is now a living reality: The Yellow Deli.

Some may say that we're dreamers, but we're not the only ones...

Even longer ago, and even farther away, the idea actually sprouted up of a society where people could work together and live together in peace and harmony. The "utopian" ideal of a society of complete sharing has come and gone across the face of history over the years, but few realize that the roots of this type of living was demonstrated most vividly in the "First Church" (which was entirely made of up Jewish believers in the Messiah) as they practiced complete communal living... this fact is documented clearly in the Bible. Somehow it must have appeared to them to be the perfect way to live out all the demands of Love, going the "extra mile." So, why not live that way today?

That is a good question. It seemed to us like love demanded that kind of "together lifestyle." So, for the last 40 years, we have been working together as a co-operative, raising our families together. Not until the early 2000s did we actually start a community here in Vista. Some of us are originally from this area and were very happy to become part of such a community right here. We support ourselves by organic farming (Morning Star Ranch organic avocado ranch in Valley Center) and sell our produce at the various farmers markets in our area. The Deli is able to serve you fresh, organic, and local produce some of which comes from our own ranch. We also have a woodshop in Vista where we work together, making nice doors and windows and cabinets (such as the ones you see in the Deli).  And now we work together to run our little Deli built with great care by all of us together...

So, we have good organic food, nice craftsmanship, and a nice environment to eat a meal... that is The Yellow Deli!

Our way of life is different and we do not mind one bit answering your questions. As Henry David Thoreau once wrote: "If a man does not keep peace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away."

We are just extremely happy to be here in Vista and to have actually, finally opened our doors.

We hope your dining experience is pleasing and you can be sure, "We are with you..."

We are now hosting Open Discussions every Tuesday & Thursday from 7:30pm - 8:30pm. All are invited to come and discuss the deeper topics of life!

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The early '70s would not have been such a special time in the Chattanooga area without The Yellow Deli. Remember those luscious fruit salads, great sandwiches, fresh salads, and homemade desserts? Something about its warm, rustic atmosphere drew people like a magnet. And who can forget the heart-felt invitation at the bottom of the hand-drawn Yellow Deli menu: “We serve the fruit of the Spirit... Why not ask?” Somehow God’s love had been communicated to our hearts in such a way that all we wanted to do was pass on the love, joy, and peace spoken of in the New Testament. Our Savior meant everything to us, so working together to serve the best food in the best atmosphere, with all of our hearts, seemed a normal response. The fruit of the Spirit was produced naturally from the good tree of happy believers working together.

That was the motive in the hearts of Gene and Marsha Spriggs when they opened The Yellow Deli on Brainerd Road in May of 1973. They wanted to have a place where people from all walks of life could come and touch a living demonstration of God’s love in those who served them. They had the hope that in the darkness of our troubled society we could reach out to lost people like a beacon of light in the midst of a storm with the pure love of God we had found. We were young and small and not so powerful, but our love and zeal for our Savior was strong. We wanted to share this love with everyone we saw. We were convinced that the love of Jesus could change the world if people could just see it being lived out in reality on a daily basis. We had a burning desire to see that love even heal the strife and division we were seeing between the Christian churches we grew up in. But as time went on we sensed that there was something holding people back from demonstrating the same “sold-out” zeal we had found. We knew from our Savior’s own words that the greatest hindrance to giving a hundred percent to God comes when we love the world or the things of this world. And without giving a hundred percent, no one can endure.

We have written the following stories as a way to reach out to many who were with us in the Vine House days but didn’t endure. As one man states: “There came a point in my life when all I really wanted to do was be where I was really wanted.” Nothing has changed. Our desire is to let those who left us long ago know that they are still wanted. We also want our old friends, who were drawn to the faint light in us and who still hold fond memories of their times with us, to know that they are still wanted and needed. And for those whom we are meeting for the first time, we extend our heartfelt invitation to be part of us. You are all greatly wanted and needed.

A gem nestled on the banks of the Hudson River. We serve hot sandwiches with warm smiles. Stop by and let us serve you a cup of tea overlooking the river.