Rubin’s Deli bucks restaurant trend, plans to open new spot
Steve Fogarty | The Chronicle-Telegram
ELYRIA — One locally owned restaurant is looking to buck the tide of restaurant closings in recent weeks by opening a second location in the burgeoning Chestnut Commons area.
Rubin’s Deli, known for its sandwiches and desserts, will open the doors to its second location Sept. 2 with a bonus — an Arabica coffee house.
The new 4,500-square-foot outlet will serve sandwiches, meals, desserts and coffee 24 hours a day. Breakfast will also be available, along with the specialty coffees, lattes and pastries that Arabica is known for.
The coffee house will operate as a franchise run by brothers Elie and Simon Moussa, who have owned the original Rubin’s on Leona Street since 1991.
Seating 150, the new combination restaurant-coffee shop will share a common entrance in a strip of retail storefronts that face the newly opened Cleveland Clinic building. The area, which is gradually adding new businesses, leads to the city’s massive Wal-Mart Supercenter.
“We think it’s a good location in an up-and-coming area,” Simon Moussa said. “We wouldn’t be doing it if we thought it wasn’t going to work.”
In the planning and construction phases for the past six months or so, the combination Rubin’s/Arabica will sport a “modern, warm and classy” look, Elie Moussa said. That look ranges from orange walls and brown carpeting to dark woods and beige floor tile.
He was quick to point out that the new location is not replacing the original.
“A lot of people were scared that we were closing the other location,” Elie Moussa said.
“We want to make sure they realize we are not closing that one,” Elie said. “Business is still good. We very much appreciate our Elyria patrons. Those customers are our bread and butter. They made us successful there, and they’ll make us successful here.”
The ongoing economic struggles that have seen the closing of a number of locally owned restaurants and chain outlets in recent weeks have produced a flood of jobseekers for the brothers.
“I had an ad in the paper and got nearly 400 applicants,” said Simon Moussa. “We had a lot of good ones but had to say no to so many.”
The restaurant will employ 60 to 65 people as cooks, hostesses, waiters and waitresses. “I’ve got 55 to 56 now,” said Simon Moussa. “We need about 10 more.”
The restaurant’s signature matzoh ball soup, New Yorker and Philadelphian sandwiches and the half-pound Angus Rubin Burger will still be on the menu. The extensive menu will also have a variety of salads, grilled chicken dinners, wraps, steaks, ribs, seafood and pasta. New additions to the menu include homemade pizza and low-carb chicken and beef dinners. Prices will range from $5.29 to $6.49 for most deli sandwiches, sandwich combos, burgers and wraps, to $8.99 to $16.99 for dinners and pizza.
Simon Moussa said he and his brother will listen to customers when considering new features such as Wi-Fi access.
“It’s on the table. If we see the need for it. … If people ask for it, we’ll have it,” he said.
Contact Steve Fogarty at 329-7146 or sfogarty@chroniclet.com.
| |
|
Filed by Steve Fogarty | The Chronicle-Telegram August 14th, 2008 in Top Stories. Popularity: 10% |
 Email this story
 Print this story
Read comments and discuss this story
Report an innappropriate comment
|
In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement
and discussion guidelines.
You must be registered and logged in to post a comment. If you aren't already registered, click here. If you are registered, click here to log in.
Comments
Comment from
Jenn
August 14, 2008, 2:53 pm
I’m so glad Rubin’s will have a location on this side of town. We love their sandwiches, but often forget about them, due to the location on the opposite side of the mall.
Write a Comment