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After Soluri & Sons Deli Destroyed By Fire, Fundraiser Launched To Help

By Ed Komenda | December 1, 2016 6:12am
 A fire broke out at 3549 S. Halsted St. Sunday night.
Soluri Fire Photos
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BRIDGEPORT — Giovanni Soluri won't soon forget that Sunday night phone call from his father and the terrible news that followed.

"The deli's on fire," Pete Soluri said.

By the time 27-year-old Giovanni Soluri showed up, Pete Soluri was standing outside 3539 S. Halsted St., home of the family business: Soluri & Sons Italian Deli. Minutes earlier, he tried to put out the fire himself with a hose, but he couldn't keep the flames from spreading. He had to give up and call 911.

The Chicago Fire Department soon went to work battling the blaze that began in Soluri's basement apartment and quickly spread throughout the decades-old building.

For a short time, the Soluri family thought they might get to keep their business.

 Meats, homemade sausage and more offered at new Bridgeport deli.
Soluri and Sons
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"There were no firemen going to the front of the deli. We thought there wouldn't be any damage to the deli," Giovanni said. "Before you know it, they started destroying the deli."

Though the flames never touched the inside of the deli, firefighters smashed the storefront window. Inside, they knocked down walls, flipped over equipment and blasted the place with a fire hose, filling the basement with three feet of water.

"They destroyed everything. They didn't leave a wall," Giovanni Soluri said. "The store probably has $50,000 worth of damage. You can't even walk in there... I'm sure there's a reason they had to do it that way."

Around 8 p.m. Sunday, Pete Soluri was watching television in his apartment below the deli. The power went out, and the couple heard a noise that sounded like a "POOF."

Soluri's girlfriend went in the back and found the laundry room on fire. Soluri grabbed a hose and sprayed the fire, but he couldn't put the fire out.

Flames engulfed the walls.

By the next morning, a plywood board covered the Soluri & Sons storefront. Wind blew through smashed windows. Destroyed equipment sat in a pile in the parking lot.

Michelle Kelly, a tenant in the apartment above Soluri, stood in the back yard in her slippers. Having lost all her possessions in the blaze, she called American Red Cross for help.

"It's a disaster," Giovanni Soluri said.

In 2013, after a five-year run at 31st and Wells streets, Soluri reopened Soluri & Sons Italian Deli on Halsted. The deli offered a menu stacked with hot and cold sandwiches, salads and a soup of the day. Guests could also take home a variety of imported Italian meats, cheeses and homemade sides by the pound.

The Soluri family has no idea when — or where — the deli might open again.

Peter Soluri was not able to talk for this story. His son said it's been a difficult week, and his dad doesn't want to talk to anyone.

The fire did more than put the family out of business. It put Pete Soluri out of a home.

"He doesn't live anywhere right now," his son said. "He stayed with me yesterday and the day before. But we have a big family. He has some support. He's not going to be homeless on the street."

Neighborhood folks can now donate to the GoFundMe campaign his son started to help the family through these hard times.

"We can't do nothing now," Giovanni said. "We have to see what happens with all the insurance and everything. The place has to be completely gutted out. The place has to be completely rebuilt."

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