Once a Delano eyesore, this 1910 building has transformed and is filling with tenants
Several years and one pandemic after buying a prominent-but-ugly Delano property, Tony Abdayem has finished remodeling it and is starting to fill it up.
The owner of La Galette French Cafe & Bakery purchased the white stucco building at the southeast corner of Douglas and Seneca, which is two doors down from his family’s restaurant, in 2018 and gave it a much-needed face-lift. He had help from the city’s facade improvement program.
Abdayem said he was happy to contribute to beautifying the area, especially since it’s at what he’s referred to as something of the “entrance of Delano.”
“It’s given more atmosphere, especially when you enter from Seneca.”
He’s now rented five of the 15 office spaces he has upstairs and has signed two leases for the first floor.
Lola Candle Co.
Gabbie Grim of Lola Candle Co. is taking almost 2,000 square feet on the first floor.
Grim started the business out of her house three years ago and recently closed her first bricks-and-mortar space at the Collective at Lulu at 233 S. Lulu.
“It was all about growth,” she said of the move.
Also, she said, she loves the other local stores around the Delano area.
When customers come to her business for candle-making experiences, Grim said they’re welcome to wait while their candles cool, “but we also encourage (them) to walk around the Delano area.”
She said there are a lot of cute shops and restaurants nearby.
Lola Candle sells candles that Grim makes, and she also invites customers to make their own scents, too.
She said she has “beautiful, luxurious vessels to choose from in all different colors and shapes.”
“It’s a really soothing and just fun DIY experience.”
Prices start at $45.
Grim also offers private events with seating up to 50.
“You can cater in your own food and drink.”
Lola Candle will have a grand opening party from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday and then will be open regular hours starting on Saturday.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
Along with teaching others about candle making, Grim also uses her business to teach her 8-year-old.
“I started the business because I wanted to teach my daughter, Lola, about entrepreneurship and making candles.”
It won’t be long before Grim has a next-door neighbor in the corner space of the first floor. Look for that news soon.
Vitality coming back
Also, Abdayem is back looking for a tenant in the empty building he has between this one and his restaurant. He had a deal with a daiquiri bar but terminated it because he said the business lacked financial backing.
Jake Ramstack of InSite Real Estate Group handled the Lola Candle deal. He’s also handling the office leasing upstairs.
Abdayem said the 10 spaces he has left to lease upstairs range from 233 square feet to 396 square feet. Leases include all utilities.
In addition to having Farha Construction expose what Abdayem called “nice, beautiful brick behind” the “very ugly” stucco, Abdayem said the contractors also revealed some lovely woodwork inside.
When the building was built in 1910, its first occupant was Riley’s Drug Store. Then in 1927, Dockum Drug moved in. At one point, Otasco was there.
“I grew up about six blocks from there and went into that Otasco all the time as a kid,” said Ted Farha of Farha Construction.
His house, which was at Sycamore and Texas, is no longer there.
Farha said he remembers hanging out in Delano before it was regularly called Delano and going downtown for all kinds of things, too. With both areas, he said it’s nice to “remember the vitality that used to be there and now is coming back.”
He said that’s why he likes to work on downtown and Delano buildings like the one Abdayem decided to revitalize.
“It was a lot of fun.”
This story was originally published November 15, 2023 at 12:30 PM.