The COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic recovery were hard on W Rieth’s Not Your Typical Deli.
Rieth and wife Vanessa Luna did all they could to keep the deli afloat, starting a mobile business from a food truck and taking over the snack bar at Gilbert’s McQueen Park for weekend events.
Still, Rieth said they were “losing our butt” on the business, which was known not just for its food but its employment of atypical workers, often on the autism spectrum, with a mission of giving them vital life skills.
But Rieth got a vital lifeline when the sisters who own the Farmhouse Restaurant — Pamela, Sylvia and Millie Hilligardt — offered the couple space in a small building behind their place in the Heritage District.
Thus, NYT Food & Beverage was born. Chef W, as he is commonly known, and Luna opened in the new spot July 21. It shares the Farmhouse Restaurant’s address at 228 N. Gilbert Road, but the operation is out back off a small parking lot off the Water Tower Plaza and across the street from Hale Centre Theatre.
Rieth said Pam Hilligardt had been after him for years to do something with the building out back of the Farmhouse, but he already had the deli, located in the Gilbert Town Square development two miles to the south, and did not know what to do with another space.
At least until the pandemic.
“They offered [again], and we’re like, ‘yeah, it's a good time to do that,’” Rieth said. “So, you know, it worked out great.”
Rieth gives high praise to the sisters for helping them out.
“They’re great people,” he said. “It’s what small business should do for each other, especially in times like this. They always liked us, and we always liked them.”
Rieth notes the two businesses complement each other well, as Farmhouse Restaurant closes at 1 p.m. while NYT Food & Beverage does not open till 5 p.m.
Luna said the new spot has allowed them to stay relevant.
“We were a go-to spot for a pastrami sandwich or a Cubano,” she said. “We still can provide that, but a little more of an express version of it.”
The menu is slimmed down from what was available at the deli — eight top sandwiches made the cut — plus charcuterie boards, wine and other drinks. Luna’s cookies also are still available.
The space is small and tight, no room for diners. They take orders at the building’s windows and can serve up cold items and drinks from there. But hot-service items are prepared in the food truck, which is parked next to the building.
The hours are limited. They are only from 5 to 10 p.m., or perhaps a little later if busy, Thursday through Saturday nights.
Seating is limited, too. There is a small patio with some tables between the building and the back of the Farmhouse Restaurant, plus all the space at the Water Tower Plaza. Rieth recognizes outdoor seating has some drawbacks at this time of year.
“I mean the patio sucks right now because it’s 165,000 degrees out,” he said. “But in the wintertime, it’s going to be a pretty dope spot.”
Added Luna: “You got the water tower in the background. It’s a nice little ambiance.”
Gilbert has often held fall and spring concerts at the plaza, and the place also is convenient for theater goers both before and after shows. Rieth wants it to be a place for Heritage District visitors to start their night.
“The biggest compliment we have gotten so far is that the place has a great vibe,” Rieth said. “It’s super simple. It’s not pretentious. We’ve got pretty much reggae music playing all the time out there, nice lights up. It’s just really nice. It’s a good atmosphere.”
Of course, the work continues with the atypical workers, too. Rieth said the restaurant business would not be worth it to him without the employment initiative as a mission.
Nonetheless, he expressed renewed energy for the business.
“We’re digging ourselves out, man,” he said. “We’re done with the survival mode B.S., and we can rock it out again. This has been fun because we are a little more creative here, and it’s not as stressful. It’s so manageable.”
Tom Blodgett Senior News Editor | Gilbert @sp_blodgett
Meet Tom Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.
Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.
Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism.
Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.
Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).
NYT Food & Beverage,
NYT Deli,
Farmhouse Restaurant,
W Rieth,
Vanessa Luna,
Pamela Hilligardt,
Sylvia Hilligardt,
Millie Hilligardt,
Gilbert Water Tower Plaza,
Hale Centre Theatre
By 
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here