There will always be a bit of biker bunker sandwiched into the east end panini shop that once served as a hangout for Hamilton’s Hells Angels.
“It’s partly the novelty aspect. People come in to ask where the bullet holes are,” said Giovanni DeLucia, who converted the infamous Lottridge Street clubhouse into Italy’s Corner Café during the summer. “The city wanted me to get rid of the concrete (traffic barriers) in front of the building. I said ‘No way … Don’t worry, I’ll decorate them up real nice.’”
Bullet holes dating back to a 2009 police raid remained in the exterior stucco months after DeLucia opened up the once secretive building to the sandwich-loving public.
The formerly forbidding concrete sentinels still surround the building, but now they’re painted in Italy’s colours and hold hanging flower baskets in the summer.
The reinforced steel doors also have to stay, whether the new owner likes them or not.
“Turns out the (steel) frames are bolted and concreted right into the walls, real solid,” said DeLucia. “The contractor told me it would cost like $5,000 to take them out … The boys built to last, you know?”
DeLucia bought the 1,500-square-foot building in summer for around $100,000 after reading a Spectator story on the former bike gang headquarter’s history. The clubhouse has been seized twice by police, from two separate biker clubs, most recently in a 2009 raid that required police to blow a hole in the side of the building.
The rookie restaurateur said a few club members, who now have a new hangout around the corner on Beach Road, have dropped by to check out their old digs.
“They love the chicken Parm,” he said.
Other curious city residents kept DeLucia busy playing tour guide in the fall when he first opened, but now he says much of his trade comes from catering and delivery to businesses in the industrial neighbourhood.
He’s preparing to try to lure more walk-up and eat-in customers this year. Where hogs and other motorcycles once parked, pork ribs will sizzle on a custom-made, wood-fired barbecue DeLucia plans to set up next to the building.
The café is also adding pasta dishes to a menu that features a house special, the “club house angel” sub stuffed with roast beef, bacon and hot peppers.
“It’s going to be like Little Italy on Lottridge,” said a laughing DeLucia. “This was my dream … so far, I’m enjoying it.”
http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/649322--souped-up-biker-bunker-now-serving-sandwiches
Other curious city residents kept DeLucia busy playing tour guide in the fall when he first opened, but now he says much of his trade comes from catering and delivery to businesses in the industrial neighbourhood.
He’s preparing to try to lure more walk-up and eat-in customers this year. Where hogs and other motorcycles once parked, pork ribs will sizzle on a custom-made, wood-fired barbecue DeLucia plans to set up next to the building.
The café is also adding pasta dishes to a menu that features a house special, the “club house angel” sub stuffed with roast beef, bacon and hot peppers.
“It’s going to be like Little Italy on Lottridge,” said a laughing DeLucia. “This was my dream … so far, I’m enjoying it.”
http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/649322--souped-up-biker-bunker-now-serving-sandwiches