The smell of bacon, eggs, and pancakes filled the local restaurant, Village Deli Friday morning.
Village Deli reopened their doors today to returning and new customers. Owner Bob Costello has been preparing his staff to ensure the reopening of the restaurant goes smoothly. The restaurant is doing online orders today and opening their dining room to customers this Saturday.
The beginning plan is to have the amount of tables open equivalent to the amount of employees working that day.
Costello has struggled mentally and physically with running three local businesses: Laughing Planet, Village Deli, and Soma Coffee House.
The labor shortage has also taken a toll on the businesses.
“The community needs people to work to continue in order to have the diversity of choice when it comes to dining out,” said Costello.
Read: Village Deli On Kirkwood To Reopen Friday After July Closure
Locals and college students are excited Village Deli is back open. IU Alumni and Bloomingotn residents, Karrie Nesbit and Gordon Nesbit have been customers since their freshman year of college. They come for their breakfast menu and says it's what brought them back every time.
“I always get the power breakfast, this is my four hundred and thirty second power breakfast!” said Gordon Nesbit.
Bloomington had a flood back in June which impacted Costello’s restaurants from computers to food inventory. Not having flood insurance, similar to many other restaurants on Kirkwood, was one of the drawbacks in reopening.
