In the summer, you can almost predict how crowded the beach will be by how many people are at Brand’s Deli.

As of 11 a.m. on a recent Sunday, the deli, which is across the street from the Long Beach station of the Long Island Rail Road, and only six blocks from the boardwalk and white sand of Ocean Beach Park, had a line 30 people deep, running from the cash register in the rear, along the length of the deli case and out the door. The beach will be crowded. And you need to eat.

Katelyn Makuh, 29, and her sister Ashley Makuh, 33, made a beeline for Brand’s after arriving in Long Beach on the 10:04 express from Pennsylvania Station. “It’s kind of like our thing,” said Katelyn, who wore a floppy sun hat and carried a nautical-themed beach bag and pink folding chair. “We go to the beach, we get sandwiches.”