Stop and Start at Stopsky's

The gang at Stopsky’s isn’t going to let a little thing like a fire stop them from getting fresh challah to their customers for Sabbath dinner. Despite the electrical flare-up at the espresso counter on Sunday the 22nd, they opened this past Friday morning to sell 40 challahs, proving --  in case there was any doubt -- that Stopsky’s takes its bakery work seriously indeed.

It had been a difficult opening week for the deli as its popularity proved to be exponentially larger than its owners, MI residents Jeff and Lara Sanderson, had anticipated. On opening day, May 23, they ran out of baked goods, smoked fish, meat and salads – forcing them to close an hour early. While they ramped bagel production up to 260 by the end of the week, they still found themselves running out of one item or another on the menu every day. “People were really understanding about that,” said Kay Morrison, manager of the retail counter. “Too much demand is the best big problem to have.”

Then Sunday, only their 7th day in business, the espresso machine began smoking at 7:30 in the morning. The wires from the machine leading under the stainless steel counter shorted out and sparked into a flame. A quick-thinking chef grabbed the fire extinguisher by the front door and quickly put it out. Meanwhile, a group of four diners who were in  for an early breakfast calmly walked out to the parking lot to finish their coffees. And after the fire department arrived and confirmed that the fire was out, Stopsky’s sent the firefighters off with a big bag of bagels, fresh from the oven.

The damage certainly could have been worse. Although the $8,000 espresso machine was toast, the counter was unscathed and nothing else caught fire. But the fine dust from the fire extinguisher managed to get everywhere, including on all exposed food, on the shelves close to the ceiling and even on plates in the back of the kitchen. Stopsky’s closed to hire a professional cleaning crew to return the place to mint condition.

While the business was on a brief hiatus, they decided to take the opportunity to revamp their systems and smooth out the opening-week kinks. The biggest change is that they’ve reorganized the kitchen so that to-go foods will be prepared separately -- and hopefully get out the door faster. They’ve added two panini grillers and a warmer by the retail counter for just that purpose and have decided to stock the deli case and sell meats and salads by the pound. (During the initial week, they didn’t offer that option as they were concerned about supplies running low.) During the closure, Stopsky’s has taken the opportunity to cure hundreds of pounds of meat. “We’ve prepped like we’ve never prepped before,” said Morrison.

When Stopsky’s reopens on May 30th, they’ll also be selling pre-packaged schmears to go along with their popular bagels and will introduce their knish. And with any luck, their good juju – and food supplies – will stay in the black. “The excitement level about our opening has been bonkers. A lot of people have said how great it is for Mercer Island to have a place like this. I think it speaks to the mission of Stopsky’s – that it’s all about the community.”

Bumps in the road such as these are to be expected for any new restaurant. And the set-backs haven’t seemed to discourage either the staff or customers already loyal to the shop. Said sous chef Shane Robinson. “A new restaurant usually doesn’t get as much love as we did this week.”