PUBLISHED SEPT. 29 2016
Community Association starts atrium café construction
By PHYLLIS HODGES
BILL HODGES PHOTO
From left, Ed Taylor Construction Company on-site Superintendent Dale Rich, CA Community Manager Lyn Reitz, CA Maintenance Manager Philip Bennett and Project Manager Tim Nails update Café Di Luna owner Ambreen Esmail about the café’s construction schedule.
Sun City Center Community Association President David Floyd said at the Sept. 14 board meeting, “I am happy to report the café has been totally approved by the county, and construction starts next week.” CA members welcomed the news, since construction was expected to start last spring and be completed by fall. That was before numerous delays in acquiring the permits.
Members did indeed start seeing activity the following Monday at the rear of the Atrium. Access to the south side of the Atrium is now the door from the outside pool area.
The estimated $300,000 cost for construction will be paid from the capital fund that is funded by new members for projects involving new structures. Expenses for the café’s interior furnishings, estimated at about $25,000 will be covered by a fund for “other improvements.”
The contracted Café Di Luna in the Atrium will remain open until the contractors start breaking through the wall. The café was installed two years ago in response to members’ requests in a 2012 survey. It was intended to be an interim measure, offering coffee, tea and snacks (at minimum cost to members) until funds became available for a new café to be built.
Superintendent Rich checks on the progress made since work started Sept. 19 to cut and remove existing concrete in the affected courtyard area.
After considering options for operating the new café, the CA board selected Café Di Luna, a corporation previously operating in Pennsylvania and owned by Ambreen Esmail who moved here in 2013. She operates the existing coffee/tea bar under the same name. Community Manager Lyn Reitz said that an agreement has been negotiated, but the contract cannot be finalized until the café is completed. As she explained, “you can’t contract for something that doesn’t exist.”
The food Café Di Luna is planning to offer will be light-fare items since all appliances will be countertop components and there will be no fryer or grill.
Esmail said that the last two years were valuable in that she has learned from patrons the types of food they want. “Everybody is busy, and they don’t stay long. They want something simple and quick,” she said. “We will be offering such items as salads, soups, paninis and other sandwiches, ice cream and baked goods.” Quite often she is asked for gluten-free and sugar-free foods, so she will have some of those on the menu as well.
Esmail said she has also observed which parts of the day have the most traffic and expects to adjust hours accordingly. For example, the outside pool is busier in the afternoon. That means more customers for her, so she is considering keeping the new café open longer than the current 3 p.m. closing. There will be a serving window opening directly to the pool area.
Floyd said he thinks members will be pleased with the results of the long-awaited project. “The contractor is saying two months for construction; we are projecting more like three months, which means it should open sometime in December,” he said.
