Paul Mandrioli sent a note, sharing some of the history of the building and site of the restaurant.  The original store was built around 1935.  The land was leased from the railroad and the building was built on pilings so it could be moved across the street, if the lease ran out and could not be renewed. In the beginning, The Draft Board shared the building with the store.

In the 1950s, a gift shop took over the Draft Board space.  During this time, the soda fountain was the most popular area of the store.  The family eventually purchased the land from the railroad.  In the mid 1950s, a fire destroyed part of the building.  After the fire, the whole store was remodeled and updated.

The last major change to the building was an addition added in the 1960s.  Paul mentioned that while his father was living and they were all working together in the store, they didn’t talk about the building’s history much, it was just a constant presence and gave the store it’s character.

The Mandrioli’s left us some items that have been in the store all of these years, and we hope that we can use a few of them.  Some examples are an old countertop, a vintage cash register — where you press the number button and the corresponding number sign pops up in the window, and a throw back freezer.  We are designing the space with the hopes of incorporating some of these historic items, which have been in the store for almost a century. 

We remain committed to leaving the building as true as possible to its original feel in the neighborhood.  We begin the interior design concept tomorrow.  Check back for updates!