Will it still be even “the deli” after a big facelift is finished? The business at 579 Main Street is Roosevelt Island’s oldest standing business, going back to the original WIRE Buildings roots. It’s gone through makeovers before, but this one looks bigger. And its commitment to the community grows stronger.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
About ten years ago, the deli changed its name. After a major makeover, it was now “Bread & Butter Market,” but the name never caught on. Because the deli was the deli. Period.
Relied on for everything from a quick coffee to a bag or two of groceries, 579 Main Street was a go-to resource for the community. You could cross your fingers and snag a lottery ticket too.
It was a stable corner, a rock on The Rock, steady among an unsteady array of commercial neighbors.
But The Deli’s Getting a Major Makeover
Over the last several weeks, though, shelves filled with grocery store products have been moved. The floors have large empty areas, and something’s going on overhead.
A quarter-million dollar makeover is transforming the old familiar store into something else, something new and likely more vibrant.
We don’t know what’s coming, but our sources tell us that, by June, there will be a whole new look and a new feel on the northernmost corner of Island House.
Stack Work Advances While Answers Do Not
On June 17 and 18, HPD told the first meeting of the Roosevelt Island Steam Plant Demolition Community Advisory Group that smokestack demolition had no projected start date. Residents and the CAG would receive at least five business days’ advance notice once a date was set. Scaffolding around the stacks could not proceed until soil removal and backfill were complete and the area stabilized.
