When Carrie Brogren, the founder and organizer of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Foodies Group, is asked about what Mediterranean Deli means to the restaurant community, it doesn’t take her long to find the word.
“Iconic,” she recently told 97.9 The Hill. “It’s classic to downtown Chapel Hill. I think we were all heartbroken. And Jamil [Kadoura, with] what he’s done for our community… I think everyone just felt like, ‘He’s done so much for us and Med Deli has done so much for our community, now it’s our turn to give back to him.’”
Brogren was one of several people involved in meetings with the owners of businesses damaged by a fire this past Saturday – which completely destroyed Mediterranean Deli and also affected DB Sutton & Company, Moshi Moshi, Simply Audrey, and Tropical Smoothie Cafe. The group, which included elected officials, the Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro, the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership and others, wanted to hear from those owners what they needed the most following their damage assessments this week.
While the cause of the fire is still under investigation by the Chapel Hill Fire Department, the group is finding their own way forward – with much public support.
Brogren said her Facebook community of thousands of local food-lovers were among those ready to offer their support and services to the impacted businesses.
“Immediately, the group was like, ‘what can we do to help,’ which is so great to see,” she said. “It’s also sort of challenging because everybody wants to help right away, but obviously these sorts of things can take days or weeks to sort out. We’re trying to figure out the best course of action to offer the best support that we can for these businesses that were affected.”
Much of the public’s focus has been around Mediterranean Deli, which is the oldest business in that stretch of stores on West Franklin. Founded by Jamil Kadoura in 1991, the restaurant has been defined by its expansive menu, welcoming atmosphere, and extensive philanthropy within the community.
Med Deli suffered the most damage since it’s where the fire seemingly began on Saturday, burning its roof and wrecking the interior. One of the biggest efforts in the wake of the fire is a GoFundMe campaign to support the restaurant’s employees, which has raised more than $180,000 since being launched.
While the original space is going to take months to repair, indications are insurance will help Mediterranean Deli and the neighboring businesses with some costs. In the meantime, Kadoura told the News & Observer he plans to set up shop in Elaine’s On Franklin former space – which he owns – and continue Med Deli’s catering services. The restaurant’s website says those operations will restart on July 31.
“I don’t know if people are aware, but over 50 percent of his business is catering,” Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger said in an interview this week. “That’s huge, that employs a lot of people. I know a lot of people like to dine there, but catering is a huge component.”
Another part of the meetings on Sunday and Wednesday were providing the owners and local leaders an opportunity to thank emergency responders who helped battle the fire. Dozens of firefighters from multiple departments worked together over the weekend to contain the flames and limit the damage downtown. According to the town, three firefighters who responded suffered minor injuries, but Hemminger shared all are already recovering.
The mayor said from the local government’s perspective, the inspection and permitting process will be safely expedited for all five businesses as they prepare to reopen. Hemminger added that much of the recovery process will be up to the public’s continued support as well.
“Fires are so sudden like this, and people are reacting [quickly],” she said. “Thankfully, no one was hurt too terribly – our firefighters who were taken to the hospital were released already and we’re so grateful for that. But the damage to things can sometimes not be discovered until days later.
“Helping buy the wine, buy the clothing, going in to get a smoothie, going to Moshi Moshi, all of those things,” said the mayor. “Please go do that to help them sustain their business. But also it helps them discover, as they move products along, what else they might need to do [to recover].”
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