Downtown favorite Mediterranean Deli reopened last September, welcoming diners back into a refreshed space
By Jessica Stringer | Photography by John Michael Simpson
Two years and two months. That’s how long diners had to wait to contemplate their picks from the Mediterranean Deli, Bakery and Catering glass cases, teeming with a brilliant spread of 95+ items. As most readers will remember, a fire in July 2023 destroyed the beloved West Franklin Street eatery and damaged adjacent businesses. Owner Jamil Kadoura pivoted quickly, operating a limited to-go and catering business out of the former Elaine’s kitchen a few doors down. Supporters started a GoFundMe that surpassed its goal (and then some), sending a total of $211,651 from 3,126 folks to keep Med Deli employees afloat. “[That love] makes you realize what kind of community we’re in – they want to help you and support you,” Jamil says. “I wouldn’t trade it for the world.” So while it’s been completely possible to eat some of our favorite Med Deli dishes over the past two years, it hasn’t been quite the same.
That all changed in September when the deli doors opened once again, inviting friends and foodies into the renovated dining room for a welcome that was so overwhelming, Jamil had a doorman doing line control the first two months. “I wanted the exact same color, the exact same carpet, the exact same look,” he says of the renovations. “It just has lots of sentimental value because it’s been open for 36 years, and I’m so attached to it.” But Jamil’s wife, Angela Kadoura, and two daughters, Ambara Kadoura and Jenin Kadoura, stepped in to help take the revival up a notch. “My oldest daughter tells me, ‘Dad, you can’t even match your own clothes. Let us design the dining room,’” Jamil says, laughing. The three women made it a little more modern Mediterranean with higher ceilings and an airier feel. “I really, really love it,” he says. “I love what they did here. It felt like my deli but brighter, more cheerful.”
One silver lining of reinventing the restaurant from the ground up meant that Jamil had the opportunity to get his dream kitchen. “If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it right,” he says. “I’m not going to say, ‘Oh, I wish I had a larger walk-in freezer.’ I’m going to go buy the walk-in freezer I want.” But perhaps the best part of Med Deli reopening its doors is that Jamil finally feels at home. “What I’m most thrilled about is to see people. I used to see customers and also customers who became friends over 36 years,” he says. “It’s been really exciting seeing all these people back.”
