How Manhattan Deli and Grill Added $30,000 a Month with Certus AI

“You could say $1,000, or maybe more, a day extra. That’s how much we were losing to missed calls. I did the math.”

Mohammed · Owner, Manhattan Deli and Grill · Tupelo, MS 

When Manhattan Deli opened, that number wasn’t theoretical. The town had waited two years — and it called all at once.

Before Certus AI 

Tupelo had been watching for this opening for a long time. The countdown played out on Facebook — when will they open, when will they open — across Tupelo and the surrounding towns of Starkville, New Albany, Guntown, and Saltillo. 

Then one night they announced they’d open in the morning. The phones haven’t been quiet since. 

“First hour was slow. My dad was scared. And then all of a sudden, 9 o’clock, everybody hit us. Everyone was on the phone — and at the end of the day, 100 missed calls. For the first two or three weeks.” 

Mohammed · Owner 

It was just Mohammed, his brother, and a cousin they’d pulled in off the street, working a deli that was suddenly slammed. Some days they had to shut the kitchen down two or three times just to catch up. 

Even after things settled, they were still missing 5 to 10 calls a day — a full handful at lunch alone. At a $15 average order, it added up fast. 

“I used to open up the phone — missed call. It used to piss me off.” 

Mohammed · Owner 

His own regulars were calling two or three times to get through. Some gave up and started texting their orders to him directly. 

“I have a few customers that text me — ‘I tried to call, I can’t get through, can I make an order?’ That’s how it worked out.”

Mohammed · Owner

With Certus AI 

Now the calls get answered, the orders flow to the kitchen, and the deli runs quiet. 

“This system was really good. Helped us a lot. Less stress. People call in, get their order. It makes it peaceful and quiet — you get your order coming into the kitchen. People call up, come and get their stuff. No complaint, no nothing.” 

Mohammed · Owner 

When something does need a human touch, it’s a one-minute call back — not a customer stuck on hold while the line backs up behind them.

From a New York counter to Tupelo, Mississippi 

Mohammed has been in New York since 1994. He and his family ran a full convenience store there for the better part of three decades — doing well, year after year, until 2020. 

“We were doing good for over 30 years. COVID killed it.” 

Mohammed · Owner 

So they came south and brought a piece of New York with them — a real deli, something the neighborhood didn’t have. The response was a two-year wait and an opening night that buried the phone lines.

Why they chose Certus

After enough missed calls, Mohammed started looking. He’d been seeing AI phone answering online for weeks. He took meetings with several providers — and went in skeptical. 

“A lot of AI agencies do it for the money. They just throw you out there with a contract, and they don’t care what’s going on. Cristiano assured me it’s not about that — it’s about improving the business. No contract, nothing. I was like — sold. I canceled all my other appointments.” 

Mohammed · Owner 

The integration sealed it. Mohammed did his own homework before committing, including on his POS. 

“One of the reasons I got Toast is because I saw Certus could integrate with it. I did my own research — people can tell you anything, but you’ve got to do your own research.” 

Mohammed · Owner 

The kind of company that picks up 

What stuck with Mohammed wasn’t just the technology. It was being treated like a partner instead of a signature on a contract — something he hadn’t always gotten from vendors before. 

“You guys are really good, really cool people. Very caring about what you’re doing, very caring about your customers. Unlike other people — ‘oh, you signed it, that’s your fault.’” 

Mohammed · Owner 

For Mohammed, Manhattan Deli is the first step, not the last. He already talks about a second location, even a third — and he knows where the build starts. 

His advice to other owners comes down to one line about why he does any of this in the first place. 

“I recommend it to anybody who has a good business. Because I need to work to make money — not make money to go to work.” 

Mohammed · Owner, Manhattan Deli and Grill · Tupelo, MS