Paul Bass Photo
A new floor of wood chips will cover the vacant lot that used to house Delaney’s at the crossroads of Westville Village, as the dream of rebuilding the popular restaurant and tap room there has been put on hold.
A dramatic all-night fire destroyed Delaney’s on Aug. 25, ripping a slice out of the neighborhood’s commercial heart. Since then the lot has lain vacant as the property’s owner, Ronald Groves, and Delaney’s operator Peter Gremse haggled with insurers and sought to build a new version of Delaney’s.
Groves did settle with his insurer, recouping less than he’d hoped — not enough, he said, to rebuild without help from state government. He hasn’t received that help, he said.
Paul Bass File Photo
Meanwhile, Gremse (pictured) has failed to come to terms with his insurer. He had insured the business’s contents and leasehold improvements. He’d need to recoup that money to afford to rebuild the business inside the shell of a new building that an owner would erect.
“It’s nine months later. All the records were destroyed in the fire. We had to recreate everything. Now that we’ve done that, they’re nickel and diming every claim,” Gremse said Thursday.
“I couldn’t commit [to Groves] without knowing how much [money] I’m going to have. He has to do something with his property too. I want to be here. I don’t want to go anywhere. I don’t want to hold [him] up.”
So Groves has put the property up for sale.
“I would love to rebuild and put Delaney’s there. At the present time I have very cordial relations with Delaney’s. I don’t think they’re going to be able to do that,” Groves said this week. “We are negotiating with [a potential buyer] right now. If that falls through, we’re going to open it up again. We’ll put a sign up.” He declined to name the potential buyer.
Groves had worked with the city to try to identify state small-business assistance in order to build a new home for Delaney’s, to no avail.
“I don’t think the state has any money to give to a landlord,” Groves said. “This is a landmark location. Westville is suffering because there’s nothing there at the minute.” Deputy Economic Development Administrator Michael Piscitelli, the point City Hall person working on the effort, could not be reached for comment.
This weekend thousands of people will be there, nonetheless, for the annual Westville Art Walk celebration. The Westville Village Renaissance Alliance (WVRA) asked Grove for permission to allow the crowds to gather on the lot. Groves said OK as long as WVRA could re-grade it, which WVRA proceeded to do. WVRA’s Chris Heitmann said the group will place a layer of wood chips along the surface.
Gremse said he hasn’t given up on reviving Delaney’s at the original location. He said he has spoken with two developers considering purchasing the lot from Groves.
“They want me there. I said I want to be there,” Gremse said. But he can’t commit — at least not yet.