Deli owner to take over library café
GREENWICH — Staff and patrons won’t go hungry: A replacement has been lined up to take over café operations at the Greenwich Library — at least temporarily.
Last week was the close of operations for Elton’s Café after 19 years, when owner Ailton Sousa decided he would not pursue a bid to provide
services in the expanded café planned as part of the Greenwich Library’s upcoming renovation project.
Kevin Allmashy, of Executive Corner Deli and Catering, will soon be operating in the same lower-level space, Library Director Barbara Ormerod-Glynn said Monday.
“Our goal was to find a provider who would meet the needs of our many patrons with affordable options and comparable menu offerings, pricing and hours of service,” Ormerod-Glynn said in an email.
Allmashy has been working at his popular deli, located at 229 Mill St. in Byram, for 14 years. He also provides the concessions services for the new municipal pool in Byram.
“We’re going to keep the same vibe going that was there at Elton’s Café,” Allmashy said. “We’re going to practically have the same selections and practically the same prices. We may add a few more healthy options, but it’s going to be just as affordable as it always was there.”
Allmashy said he can handle the increased workload. He said he is used to operating multiple cafés at once, noting his past experience providing food service to Pitney Bowes in Newtown. All of his employees are certified food operators, he said.
“I have a great staff and they can do this,” Allmashy said.
He recently closed his small operation at the YWCA Greenwich and will move the employees from there over to the Greenwich Library.
Opening day for the new café must still be determined. As of Monday, Ormerod-Glynn said the café will remain closed until a few details are resolved.
“We are working with him to obtain the necessary town permits and inspections to reopen the Library Café to the public as soon as possible,” she said.
Allmashy expressed confidence that the café will reopen soon given his experience in town and because he is taking over an existing space.
The library, pending approval of its plans by the town, is expected to undergo a major renovation that will change how the inside of the building is used without expanding its footprint. Part of that change will be an expanded café, which will be moved to a new space near a new lower level entrance in the Baxter Courtyard.
Library officials had expected Sousa to bid on that new space, but he said last week that he was bowing out because of the extra costs associated with operating a bigger establishment with more hours of operation.
“My heart is broken,” Sousa said of leaving the library. “It wasn’t an easy decision to make.”
Ormerod-Glynn said she was disappointed to see him go.
“Elton has a faithful following among both patrons and staff,” she said last week. “Everyone seems to have their favorite dish or two that they will miss.”
Ormerod-Glynn said a committee working on the café, which has not even been convened yet, will develop a process for requesting and reviewing proposals from potential operators. That committee, which will be made up of library staff and trustees, will work with a food services consultant.
According to Kate Petrov, Greenwich Library’s public relations office, Allmashy has “expressed preliminary interest” in the new café. Allmashy confirmed that, saying, “If I’m there I might as well try to be along for the ride.”
For now, Allmashy has a one-year contract with Greenwich Library, and the opportunity to extend it on a month-by-month basis as the work takes place within the building.
In the meantime, the Planning and Zoning Commission is tentatively scheduled to hear the library’s plans for it building at its April 2 meeting. If the town approvals are granted, work on the 16month library project will begin in July.