Dunes Deli Maintains Local Support After Fire

After a destructive electrical fire in July, Surf City Pizza is permanently closed, but the pizzeria’s absence has not ruined business or morale at the adjacent Dunes Deli.

Although located in Lido Beach, Dunes Deli is a staple of the Long Beach community. People continue to frequent the deli after it survived the fire and reopened in August. It is popular for both breakfast and lunch, and as a spot for neighbors to simply chat and catch up with each other. People who went to the deli and pizzeria before the fire are not abandoning the local favorite.

“It’s too bad we lost Surf City Pizza to the fire, but I'm glad Dunes Deli was able to reopen,” said Bob Piazza, a loyal patron. “Paul and Diane are great people who live here in town and give a tremendous amount of themselves to the community and the local youth programs, and it is great to be able to support their deli.”

Owners Diane and Paul Salvadori are local residents with two teenage sons who attend Long Beach High School. The Savadori family stays involved with many local charitable organizations, including Camp Anchor, Long Beach Soup Kitchen and various sports clubs at LBHS.

“We support a lot of local organizations,” Diane said. “People ask us for help and we are the first to say ‘yes.’ We were even [donating] when the pizzeria first started when we were trying to make ends meet.”

The Salvadori family's continued involvement in the community is their way of showing appreciation to their loyal customers.

Frequent customer Steve Kaplan also mourns the loss of Surf City, noting that the closure of the restaurant “was very sad. We ordered pizza and wings at least once — and many times twice — over the course of the weekend as our house is always filled with hungry kids.”

Kaplan still stops at Dunes Deli several times during the week for breakfast or lunch.

Now, many local residents are starting to wonder what is going to replace the pizzeria. Some are expecting another restaurant, while others hope for a surf shop.

At this time, though, there are no set plans for the location. The Salvadoris have decided not to remodel Surf City. While the smoke damage in Dunes Deli was repairable, the pizzeria cannot be easily rebuilt.