SALISBURY — Cartucci’s fans who have waited 10 long months for the restaurant to reopen after a fire can mark these days on their calendar: Tuesday, when the Italian eatery at 105 E. Fisher St. plans to begin serving lunch and dinner again, and May 30, when owner Ted Aurora will host a grand re-opening.
With the exception of a kitchen helper who moved to the beach and a waitress who retired, all of Cartucci’s employees will return, Aurora said.
“Every one of them was waiting to come back, and when we got together, they all said the same thing,” he said. “We feel like we’re home now.”
The staff is like family and often socialize together, Aurora said.
New to the staff of eight is head chef Adam White, most recently of the now defunct Castaways, who has more than 20 years of cooking and baking experience. Initially, Cartucci’s will offer the exact menu the restaurant had before the fire, but White eventually plans to expand the menu to include homemade pasta, baked goods and more.
“I am really very pleased to have him on board,” Aurora said. “I believe he will add a lot to the restaurant and bump up the quality we already had.”
Also new for Cartucci’s, Aurora has added a Sunday brunch. Sweet Meadow and Emma’s, two other downtown restaurants, have popular Sunday brunch menus, and Cartucci’s will give it a try as well. Gritz offered a downtown brunch on Sundays but recently closed.
Cartucci’s will woo the after-church crowd from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays with Aurora’s original weekday buffet, plus an additional hot table with brunch items like biscuits, eggs and breakfast meat. Aurora is still mulling over an omelet bar.
Because Cartucci’s will be open Sundays, Aurora said he decided to close on Mondays, which was a slow day anyway. Additional hours are 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
Aurora chalked up the delays to contractor, subcontractor and insurance issues. He said just about anything that could have gone wrong with the renovations did, including a long-awaited platform for an outside air conditioning unit that arrived and was 8 inches too short.
With food ordered and beer and wine en route, Aurora said he’s ready to open his doors and welcome back his loyal customers, many of whom have called the Post regularly since the fire to check on a re-opening date.
“The best way I can describe it is excited but apprehensive,” Aurora said. “It’s been a long time. We have to get our sea legs back.”
He will honor all gift cards.
Once Cartucci’s is up and running again, Aurora plans to open his new venture, a Thursday-Friday-Saturday nighttime music venue called the Grapevine at 209 S. Main St., formerly the Blue Vine. He plans karaoke for Thursday nights and live entertainment for Friday and Saturday nights. Cartucci’s will provide the menu of appetizers and desserts.
The Grapevine will be available for business meetings or private parties and can accommodate up to 45 people. Aurora said he hopes the location will become popular for rehearsal dinners, anniversary parties and other celebrations.
Cartucci’s fans will have their own celebration this week when the restaurant finally reopens.
Contact reporter Emily Ford at 704-797-4264.