By Audrey Levine Staff Writer
Two small trains continuously circle a track hanging from the ceiling, and signs proclaiming “Railroad crossing” and “Rosemary’s Station” are hung on the walls. Pictures of locomotives adorn other walls, and a “Thank you whistle” offering sounds of conductors, bells and a steam engine sits on the counter.
For the Plaza Deli, in Mountainview Plaza on Route 206, these new decorations marked the start of a new theme when it held its grand reopening Aug. 28.
”I wanted a unique experience for the customers, so I have a train theme now,” said Rosemary Toto, owner of the deli since she bought it from the previous owner five years ago. “Both adults and children have said they love it.”
Although the train tracks suspended above guests is not new to the deli, Ms. Toto said she chose to expand on it to add the different railroad symbols throughout the place. In addition to the wall signs, she placed train puzzles on the tables, passed out conductor hats to all the children and left song lists on each table to allow guests to request songs related to trains.
”The deli used to have a sports motif,” she said. “I thought this train theme would be neat.”
The idea for the train theme also came from the fact that the deli is located across from the former Belle Mead train station. Ms. Toto said she had read that there has been talk of reopening the station, and she believed it would be a nice connection between the two sides of Route 206.
”If we get that rail line, it makes sense,” said Mayor Anthony Ferrera, who attended the grand reopening. “I think it’s great the way they changed the theme, especially with the anticipation of the train.”
To celebrate the grand reopening, the deli offered free food like sandwiches, mozzarella sticks and train-shaped lollipops to guests, in addition to face painting by Melzo the Clown for kids. Several children sat at the tables inside, piecing together the train puzzles and watching the trains move across the tracks once they had finished.
”We’ve been working on this idea for months now,” Ms. Toto said. “Little by little, we began to add the train décor. But the children and adults were so excited that we wanted to expand on it.”
Ms. Toto said she has gotten a great deal of positive feedback on the changes, and was also looking forward to debuting her expanded menus during the grand reopening.
As a Hillsborough resident herself, Ms. Toto said, she enjoys being able to give back to the community through the deli. She said she offers discounts for teachers, senior citizens and police officers, and tries to give out free lunches to lucky winners everyday.
”I want to give back to the community,” she said. “I love this town.”
With all the changes, Ms. Toto said she is very pleased with the work that was done in this 20-year-old deli, and she knows that guests have been looking forward to seeing the theme.
”We debuted the final product,” she said. “People are so excited.”
