On July 22, a fire broke out at Mediterranean Deli on West Franklin Street while a contractor was doing roofing work.
A little over two months later, the owner, Jamil Kadoura, and his staff are navigating a new normal for the restaurant as its building remains closed.
Kadoura said that while the restaurant is not currently open for walk-ins, Med Deli started catering and delivery soon after the fire from 454 W. Franklin St. — which used to be Elaine’s Restaurant.
Because of the location change, Kadoura said the restaurant condenses its over 100-item menu to about 20 main dishes for delivery orders. He said the catering menu has stayed relatively the same because they are able to order the food they need in advance.
Though they've managed to make it work through a temporary location, construction will soon be underway at the main location at 410 W. Franklin St.
Jim Spencer, the principal architect at Jim Spencer Architects, said his company is currently working on demolition pricing and permits to begin construction.
He said the floors, stairs and other parts of the building suffered fire and water damage and that tearing out the damage would be the first step of rebuilding. He also said they will need to get a permit from the Town of Chapel Hill to reinstall the roof and flooring.
After the roof and flooring are reinstalled, he said the last step is getting another permit from the Town for the restaurant to put in the new kitchen equipment as well as electrical, mechanical and plumbing services.
Spencer said the construction should take about six months to complete, but they won’t know for certain until a contractor can give them a timeline.