Many long years of relationship between the am:pm chain and the streets on which it operates have taught it a thing or two about pace, and about partnership. Now, it feels that the time has come to shift up a gear and speak seriously about the next stage of this stable relationship.
The next stage is not couples counseling and not an agreement on opening the relationship. The next stage is “delicatessen.”
The group’s new delicatessens aspire “to be your personal quality pantry – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.” They are meant to complement routine, everyday shopping, lift the basket a bit, upgrade, and of course keep you within a single stop only, without the need for pinpoint stops at the neighbors. It somewhat recalls Picks, a previous move of ready-made meals by the chain that started successfully but suffered from objective challenges and a higher expectations bar.
Here, the aspiration is legitimate of course, and highlighting am:pm’s high availability plays to its advantage and gently, relatively elegantly, pokes the competitors. Wrapping it all is a young, light marketing-branding language, as usual, starting with the name itself and through the writing on the refrigerators (“A delicatessen, just without being pretentious”) and the promise of fair prices.
Now, all that remains is to open those refrigerators and check what is really cooking inside them.
The delicatessen collection, which is also available via Wolt, highlights as a basic point complete, shortcut meals (chilled pastas, pizza bases, soups), meals that require basic kitchen actions, and complementary products that will close a more successful at-home evening than the routine.
That means, first and foremost, Italian. There are arancini balls ready for frying (or for the air fryer, if that’s your thing. An oven will also work, but of course with a less decadent result, NIS 56.90 for nine large units), focaccias (NIS 26.90) that are very surprising in their level (and need 2–3 minutes of heat), pizza bases (NIS 25.90), with tomato sauce and after a secondary bake, waiting for cheeses and toppings, ready-made couple pizzas, including the topping, as well as a nice pasta menu – successful ravioli filled with sweet potato or cheeses, and “cloud gnocchi” – which needs boiling water and nothing more, and from there to a pan with butter, olive oil, or sauce. The last category also solves this need, with five ready options in the form of tomato sauce, rosa, cream-pesto, cream-mushroom, and polenta (NIS 29.90).
All of these (including frozen ramen, vegan and based on chicken or beef) are produced in Israel, but maintain a personality close enough to the land of the boot, and certainly one of the end of a workday, on the way to a meal that positions itself excellently on the seam between restaurant and home. The rest, naturally, is up to your discretion and your level of hunger and investment. Olives from Greece and cheeses from Europe (also possible from Israel, we have something to be proud of), olive oil and wine. Clearly wine, preferably in the Italian Primitivo edition that puts out a charming label, in a special edition. Bon appétit, and cheers.