A flatbed semi truck from Polar King International delivered a custom-made cooler to the deli from Fort Wayne, ending a two-month-long wait.
The driver used a Yale forklift to transport the cooler off the truck, through the alley behind the Village Deli and into place in the rear of the restaurant. The cooler got stuck twice in the hour-long process — once when one of the wheels of the cart holding the cooler sunk into asphalt on North Grant Street and a second time when another wheel got stuck on a slab of concrete.
Bob Costello, the Village Deli’s owner, oversaw the delivery and the transportation of the cooler, while other restaurant employees watched and took pictures from behind the deli.
“We have to have the electrician come in and connect it, and then we have to allow the walk-in cooler-freezer to sit for 24 hours before we put anything in it,” Costello said last week. “We have to get deliveries from our suppliers. Since we’re re-stocking the entire restaurant, the suppliers need two days to bring the inventory in.”
The Village Deli still needs final health and fire inspections before it ?can open.
“Some people may wonder, ‘If you’re getting the cooler that you’ve been waiting for on the 6th, why aren’t you opening on the 7th or 8th?’” he said. “And we also have to have two to three days to prep all the food and prepare everything for the opening.”
The restaurant is expected to have a soft opening during the week of April 13 and a grand opening ?April 17.
Andy Wittry
