Popular Wichita restaurant temporarily closed as owner is hospitalized with COVID-19
The well-known owners of a Delano restaurant have closed their business until further notice while they both battle serious cases of COVID-19.
Tony and Michelle Abdayem, who have owned La Galette at 1017 W. Douglas for 35 years, announced via social media on Sunday that the restaurant was closed for now. Reached at home, Michelle said that her husband has been hospitalized in intensive care since Christmas Eve. He’s expected to be in the hospital for at least 10 more days and may have to be on oxygen when he returns home.
Michelle, who also has the virus, was on IV fluids at home but was never hospitalized. She is slowly recovering.
“This is serious,” Michelle said of the virus.
Michelle said she’s spoken with her husband, who said he thinks the soonest the restaurant could reopen is around Jan. 25, though he can’t be sure. If she continues to improve, she said, she may try to reopen La Galette for carryout only sooner than that.
“I can’t do it by myself,” she said. “That’s not how our business works.”
Michelle said that she and her family have not been able to see Tony since he was hospitalized but feel that he is slowly improving. She’s never seen her husband so weak, she said.
She thanked customers who have expressed concern about the closure and promised to keep me updated on Tony’s health.
The family-run restaurant, where most of the Abdayem children have also worked, has been a favorite dining destination in Wichita for decades, specializing in French pastries and Lebanese fare. It originally opened on May 17, 1986.
This story was originally published December 27, 2020 at 2:31 PM.
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