GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Everything’s made from scratch at Evan’s Downtown Deli, 560 Main St. And what owner Evan Williamson doesn’t make himself, he tries to buy locally like bread from Homestyle Bakery and tortillas from La Milpa in Clifton.

“They’re some of the best tortillas I’ve ever seen in my life,” Williamson said.

When the peaches ripen, expect to see Williamson’s Palisade peach salad on the menu.

“Peaches may be one of the reasons I moved out here,” said Williamson who moved to Colorado from Detroit in 1995. “I came two or three times a year (to visit his grandmother in Delta). Grandma always had peaches canned. We’d have peaches and cream every morning.”

Williamson, 34, bought the Wrap Cafe March 31, changed the name and the menu, added wood furniture, and opened up the deli April 1. He’s also adding more tables for outside dining.

Williamson has cooked for various restaurants over the years, including one in Michigan called Big Fish where everything is made from scratch.

“It appealed to me so much more. It gave me my desire to learn the true restaurant business,” Williamson said.

Ask him for his favorite sandwiches and he’ll name the New York pastrami, and the 3 P Panini (pastrami, provolone and peppericinis). However, “I love everything on the menu,” he quickly adds.

There’s also a build-your-own-sandwich for the “picky eaters.”

“We want people to order what they want in a sandwich,” Williamson said.

For the vegetarian, there’s the hummus wrap, or a sandwich piled with all the veggies in the house with a pesto spread and a house Italian vinaigrette dressing.

The potato salad is probably his most talked about item, he said.

“I have people say ‘don’t ever change the potato salad,’” Williamson said. “They absolutely love our potato salad.”

The potatoes are seasoned and brushed with oil and roasted whole before using them to make potato salad or adding them to breakfast burritos.

Williamson said business has been good since he took over the eatery in April.

“We get busier and busier every day,” Williamson said. “People who appreciate our food will definitely understand our food.

“You can tell if food is made in house, or fabricated (prepared food shipped in from somewhere else). You’ll understand the love we have for food.”

Williamson is an avid downhill and cross-country skier, mountain biker and snowboarder.

“When you live an active lifestyle, you really need to take care of the body,” Williamson said. “Fresh capitalizes on the nutrients.”

Williamson graduated from the Colorado Culinary Academy in 2005.

Although Williamson has cooked for 18 years, this is the first time he has owned his own business. The culinary institute taught him technical, marketing, and management skills, he said.

“I thought it was a great program. I was very impressed with it,” Williamson said.

Evan’s Downtown Deli is open Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Williamson also does catering.

Eventually, Williamson would like to turn his restaurant into an all-night deli.

“That’s my dream,” Williamson said. “The bus, the train, the bars closing — people need a place they can walk to.”

In Detroit, they call those all-night delis “Coney Islands,” Williamson said.

The nickname comes from the big city hot dog vendors selling hot dogs at 2 a.m., he said.

Reach Sharon Sullivan at ssullivan@gjfreepress.com.