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Popular deli to go on hiatus

Juan's Black Bean Deli in New Port Richey takes its last order on Feb. 25 and might not reopen until the new downtown complex is completed.

By MELIA BOWIE
Published January 26, 2005

NEW PORT RICHEY - As plans for a $30-million residential and retail complex at the city's entrance move forward, the founder of a popular deli says his business will move aside to make room - at least for the moment.

Juan DeSosa of Juan's Black Bean Deli on Main Street said he looked for a temporary location for his business but was thwarted by high rental prices.

He now plans to shut down the deli until next year, when he will reopen in Main Street Landing - the new Mediterranean-themed complex.

"We are closing here on the 25th of February and then we will be back when this will be finished . . . by April 2006," DeSosa said recently.

Demolition work is expected to begin in earnest next month to clear the way for the massive mixed-use complex officials hope will redefine New Port Richey.

In the project's path is Juan's deli, Tonnie's Florist shop, an Internet cafe and the River Oaks apartments.

Project developer Ken McGurn said he anticipates the apartments likely will be demolished in early February after a month's delay.

"The police and the Fire Department and all of those folks have been out there doing (training exercises) and stuff," he said.

In the meantime, "we've marked all the trees we're going to be saving and are putting protection around those trees," McGurn said. "We're also doing asbestos abatement."

Already demolished at the 4-acre site where Main Street Landing will rise was the Shangri-la Hair Salon, which has since moved to U.S. 19.

Gainesville developers Ken and Linda McGurn had initially set January as the demolition date for the other buildings on the site.

But "Juan wanted to stay in there until the end of February and obviously the flower shop wanted to stay past Valentine's Day," Ken McGurn said. "Those will be the last two buildings we take down, and that's kind of controlling this."

DeSosa, a Cuban native who founded his New Port Richey deli in 1999, said he looked for a place to lease temporarily.

"But everything is so expensive," he said of rents that range from $3,000 to $7,000 a month along U.S. 19 or Ridge Road. "And if I'm going to open, I want to open a little bigger."

So instead, DeSosa said he is asking customers to write down their addresses so he can notify them should he find a suitable place to reopen in the interim.

If not, he said, "I'm going to get a big vacation."

Melia Bowie covers business the city of New Port Richey. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6229, or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6229. Her e-mail address is bowie@sptimes.com

[Last modified January 26, 2005, 00:13:15]