After a fire the morning of Jan. 25 closed the Village Deli, an end — or rather, a new beginning — is in sight.
The Kirkwood Avenue restaurant will open April 17, Village Deli owner Bob Costello said Wednesday. Costello is planning on having a soft opening sometime during the week of April 13 for the vendors and contractors who helped the restaurant during its rebuilding process.
“We’re gonna bring them in and their families and feed them and have a day where we thank them for the work that they’ve done,” Costello said.
“Our hope was to be open before Little Five, which it looks like we will be, and to be here for graduation so that any graduating seniors can come in and get their Deli fix before they leave,” he said. “And then we hope that people continue to visit the restaurant all summer long.”
Tim Batalon, a Village Deli manager who has worked for the restaurant for eight years, said the biggest hold-up has been the custom-made walk-in cooler.
“They have to ship it all together,” he said. “And then they’re gonna have to crane it over the building and drop it in, so it’s going to be a big ordeal to get ?it here.”
The cooler takes six to eight weeks from the time it was ordered until it’s delivered, Costello said. Once the cooler arrives early next week, it will have to be plugged in and sit empty for 24 hours ?until it can be filled with food.
The Deli’s suppliers will need two days to deliver the restaurant’s inventory. Then, one final inspection from fire and health inspectors, and the Deli will have the green light to reopen.
So, about two weeks until the public can enjoy the Deli’s famous pancakes.
In the mean time, restaurant employees have had time to complete other projects inside the restaurant.
“Just having the time to be closed is kind of a blessing in disguise,” Batalon said. “Yes, we’re not open, but there’s just so much that we’ve been able to get done, and when we do reopen, we’ll be more equipped to handle things, and I think people will appreciate the fact that it is fresh.”
Many of the walls and furnishings inside have a fresh coat of paint, and the ceiling in the western portion of the building has been modified.
“The ceiling, that was the one thing — it looked a little aged,” he said. “Gave it character, I’d say, but you know, this is definitely a plus. I’ve been here for a long time, so we always talk, ‘Oh, rip the ceiling down,’ but we actually did.”
Life has been different for Costello, Batalon and the rest of the Deli’s employees since the fire. Some left to find other jobs, but those that stayed have been earning paychecks even though the restaurant’s doors have been closed.
The Deli’s insurance allowed employees to recover lost wages based on the average number of hours they had worked while the restaurant was open. Some employees facilitated the clean-up stages of the rebuilding process.
“It’s been interesting because going from busy restaurant, people in and out every day, to just like five guys in the same room just kind of cleaning up has been a change for me,” Batalon said.
Not all of the Deli’s 50-plus employees earned their wages repairing the restaurant. Many did so through volunteering in the community.
For every hour an employee volunteers for a non-profit organization, he or she is paid for two hours of work.
Employees volunteered at the Community Kitchen, Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard, Goodwill, Big Brothers Big Sisters and numerous local churches. One employee even went on a mission trip to ?Guatemala for a week.
“It was a way to pay them but to have them actually do some work for the money, and it seems to have worked out well,” Costello said.
After being closed for almost two and a half months, the Deli is on the verge of re-?opening.
“We’re a stone’s throw away from opening,” Batalon said. “We’re really close. It’s within our reach.”
