Handy Pantry gets a makeover
At the last original market in Orlando historic neighborhoods, sandwiches are named after local streets, curry dishes may come with a live flute solo and patrons like the place so much they donated to have it painted.
A grocery since the 1920s, Handy Pantry has been owned and run for nearly 16 years by Dev Rai and his wife, Arati, grandparents from Nepal.
“Not everybody is fortunate enough to get the kind of love we have been given,” Arati Rai said.
“Dhanyabad,” he said, explaining it means thank you in Nepali.
From Monday through Saturday, they open their deli and convenience store at 522 E. Amelia St. at 8 a.m. and close 11 hours later. Their nights continue with errands for the next day’s supplies.
Staying in business has been challenging, more so when her rheumatoid arthritis flares up. “We were open seven days a week until my health went down,” she said.
Cindy White, who has lived a few blocks away for 25 years, said the Lake Eola Heights association began last fall to take serious notice of the couple’s difficulties.
“Everybody in the neighborhood would be crushed if it closed,” White said.
After debate about menu changes and other tactics for keeping Handy Pantry open, the group decided to dip from reserves and hold a fundraiser to freshen up the 79-year-old building rented by the Rais. A paint job with minor repairs was put out for bid and of the three companies that competed, the one whose workers are Lake Eola Heights and Handy Pantry regulars won a job expected to top out at about $1,500. The association hopes to defray some cost with a city grant to be sought when work is complete.
For years, the store wore a coat of vivid and occasionally disparaged blue. White said the neighborhood is full of artists, which could have made it an unwieldy task to reach agreement on replacement colors.
That responsibility was handed to city preservation officer Richard Forbes, who selected from a palette of historic colors. The commercial building is concrete block and stucco, with Mediterranean features. Forbes suggested a terra-cotta shade for roof tiles that also had been masked in blue. The body color is offwhite, the same as the city’s recently refurbished, historic Amtrak station. Other colors include mahogany for the wood brackets and greenishgray for metal features. Still to come is black paint for window grills.
“Some of this is totally selfserving,” White said. “We knew the place would look great.”
The business is a real, working deli and grocery where neighbors such as Sylvia Pletka may stop in for a sandwich one day and a loaf of bread the next. A particular brand of beer will be stocked upon request. Arati Rai bakes cookies daily for the sandwich combo. Kids who came in years ago to buy candy now bring their own children. “This is my home away from home,” Arati Rai said.