Stacked Deli forced to close, loses lease

By Lisa Brody

Stacked Deli, 233 N. Old Woodward in downtown Birmingham, will serve it's last bowl of chicken soup and it's last corned beef sandwich on Friday, May 13, after its lease was not renewed after 10 years in the same location.

Owner/manager Tommy Gjonia was informed by landord Bedros Artesian, who bought the building Stacked Deli is located in a couple of years ago, that he wanted to do some renovations to the space, and they would need to close their doors for six to eight months. Gjonia was told at the time that he could leave all of the deli's equipment in place.

Stacked Deli's lease expires May 31.

Dennis Boatman, deli man at Stacked, said they seriously considered resigning the lease and doing that, but when Gjonia contacted Artesian, he said he had reconsidered and he wanted to do a more thorough renovation, which would take over a year. Further, Gjonia would have to remove all the equipment from the space.

“We can't be closed for over a year,” Boatman said, noting that removing the equipment really sunk the deal.

Boatman said Gjonia has been looking for another location in Birmingham to open up at, but he is not sure if there will be a spot that will work out.

“This wasn't a voluntary thing,” Boatman and Gjonia emphasized.