Shane's Deli to make summer comeback in downtown Wheaton

If there's a sports analogy for Shane's Deli, it's the comeback kid.

The downtown Wheaton deli was on the brink of shutting its doors two years ago when Eric Schlickman and four friends rallied to save the neighborhood lunch spot.

Now Shane's is headed for another resurgence, this time after escaping the wrecking ball.

The deli closed last December at the site of the former Cock Robin at Wesley and Hale streets. The property owner planned to tear down the iconic structure in March to make way for a three-story building with space for retailers on the first floor, offices on the second and an individual condo unit on the third floor.

But the owner decided to postpone the project because of the economic uncertainty and retail disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I think that he hopes to do it in some capacity in the future," Schlickman said.

But it won't be anytime soon. Schlickman expects to receive a five-year lease, allowing him to reopen Shane's in its old home instead of elsewhere downtown. "It's where Shane's should be," he said.

He and the property owner will work on building and site improvements with the goal of reopening this summer. The owner still intends to tear down a neighboring building to the north on Hale, Downtown Wheaton Association Executive Director Elle Withall said via email.

Schlickman wants to replace the deli's roof, update its heating and cooling system, redo the parking lot, install a new ceiling and make cosmetic enhancements. The work will start by early June.

Though he's restarting a restaurant in a pandemic, Schlickman remains confident in the loyalty of Shane's customers. Patrons were thrilled when he announced the reopening on social media.

"Even before all of this happened, I had envisioned catering and delivery as a larger part of Shane's and expanding the business through those two methods," Schlickman said. "With the situation that we're in, I might need to start there as well as doing curbside or having pickup."

He's already developed contactless service at his other restaurant, 302 Wheaton. The burger restaurant and taphouse opened last fall.

"It's not the spring that we had anticipated," he said. "We would love to have people out on our patio hanging out more on these beautiful days that we've had. But the community has been super supportive of us."

To build enthusiasm for Shane's, Schlickman is featuring the deli's popular menu items at 302 Wheaton. The latter began offering the Shane's Club Salsalito as the first installment of a "Sandwich of the Week."