By Ginny Raue
If you say “cheese” to Glenn Liebau you are most likely not prompting him to smile for a photo. You are more apt to be ordering a topping for your sandwich at the newly opened Highlander Deli and Grill on Otterhole Road in West Milford.
Liebau, 45, is a life-long resident of West Milford and currently resides in the Pinecliff Lake area. He and Melissa, his wife of almost 18 years, have three daughters: Amber, 15, Ava, 13 and Amelia, who at age eight is a year older than her father was when he met her mother.
Melissa’s dad coached Glenn’s sister’s soft ball team and at age seven he liked helping out at practices. He got to know Melissa, they dated briefly during high school but didn’t really connect until Melissa’s junior year at college.
Since that time they’ve been together, raising a family and building businesses. According to his wife, Liebau is an entrepreneur, a man determined to be successfully self-employed, to do well by his family.
As a child, Liebau was into sports and always striving to keep up with his big brother. They made up games, and made do.
“We played baseball with half a bat so we could play on smaller fields. We used a 1957 car hood for a back stop. If the ball hit the hood it was a strike. We had a lot of fun,” Liebau said.
After graduating from West Milford High School, Liebau went to work in a Ford warehouse. In 1997, the Liebaus opened the Country Roads Deli in Hewitt.
For two years he worked the midnight shift at Ford and then went to work at the deli. The couple worked hard and he credits their families and his employees for helping to make it a successful business.
“You have to take the risk and you have to want it. It’s a huge commitment and you have to give up a lot,” he said.
The business grew as well as the demands and, in 2008, Liebau felt it was time to move on to greener pastures. Or rather greener golf courses. For a time he caddied at the Ridgewood Country Club, thoroughly enjoying himself.
In 2009, the Liebaus owned a deli in Franklin, built the business up and then sold it. When the opportunity presented itself to buy the newly renovated store on Otterhole Road, the Liebaus decided to go back into the West Milford deli business.
The couple each dedicate between 50 and 80 hours a week at their new store and their girls help out a lot.
“Amber runs the front, taking orders and bagging, she handles the crowds,” her dad said.
Liebau rises at 4:30 a.m. to open the store at 5:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. On Saturdays and Sundays he lazes around, not opening until 6 a.m. He may get a chance to leave the store during the day but always returns for closing time.
“He doesn’t look at it as work. He looks at it thankfully, he has a business and is living the American dream,” his wife said.
While Liebau’s mind is always on bettering his store, his hands are busy, too, preparing homemade soups and salads and gearing up for breakfast and lunch crowds. And the crowds do come, some to order a sandwich named in their honor.
Once the Liebaus named the store Highlander, a good fit for the area, they realized they had a theme going on. The family sat down and came up with names for their sandwiches and the next thing they knew there was “The Mary Reinhold,” named after the Macopin School principal.
“Mary loves cheese steaks,” Liebau said.
And there’s more specialty and grilled items on the menu: “Gorski’s Fried Chicken Cutlet,” named for the high school principal, and “The Bus Driver” breakfast sandwich. “The Mid Term” is packed with protein-rich turkey, cheese and bacon.
The Highlander customers are local residents and lots of business comes from the schools, Westbrook, Macopin and West Milford High School, all nearby.
Liebau hopes the business will continue to grow, specifically in the direction of the local needs.
“I want to get a feel for what people are asking for and make additions,” he said.
The Liebaus love working in their hometown, meeting the residents and being near their children’s schools.
On his few hours off, Liebau heads for the golf course and sometimes goes fishing. He doesn’t cook at home and often the family dines on leftovers from the store. But Amber loves shrimp scampi and she followed her dad’s advice: if you like it, you learn to make it. A good lesson in self-reliance and maybe someday “The Amber” will be on the menu.