Village Pantry Welcomes First Customers

For Jessica and Liz Torrey, it was eggs just the way they like them and hot chocolate. For two-year-old Lucas Bzura, a blueberry muffin, as The Village Pantry opened for breakfast on Monday morning for the first time since its predecessor, Mort?s Deli, closed last March. The Torreys arrived with their dad, Dana, at 7 a.m., the first customers at the upscale cafe on Swarthmore. Their mom, Trish Riordan Torrey, stayed to work in the restaurant that her father former Mayor Richard Riordan bought from Bobbie Farberow last spring. While her title has yet to be determined, Trish calls herself “dad’s eyes and ears.” The front-of-the-house staff, dressed in black T shirts with “The Village Pantry” imprinted across the front and a colorful design invoking an old California fruit crate label decorating the back, quietly went about their business, taking orders, serving coffee and busing tables. Director of Operations Sharon Nazitto seemed quite at ease on this first morning of what is known in the business as a “soft” opening, or previews, where the kinks are worked out. Extending the similarities between the restaurant and film business, Trish Torrey offered a comparison. “After 15 years in the film business, I can say that for me most of the hard work happened before the show opened. After that, it was a scheduled routine. In the restaurant world, the show is the customers. The hard work happens when we’re open for business.” Part of the preparation for this long-awaited opening included hiring and now training the staff. It’s Nazitto’s job to assure that the front-of-the-house staff learn the requirements of good service. Greetings are important, as is knowing the menu and working in synchrony with the others and with the kitchen, under chef Doug Silberberg. Nazitto has been part of Riordan’s family restaurants for some time. While an undergraduate at USC, she was accustomed to eating at The Original Pantry on Ninth Street. This downtown landmark opened in 1934 and has been serving comfort food 24/7 ever since. Riordan purchased the restaurant in the 1980s. Nazitto started waitressing at Gladstone’s, another Riordan restaurant, almost a decade ago and took over as manager in 2005. Other staff members, including Albino and Fidel, moved over to Gladstone’s while Mort’s was closed. Whether by accident or having been tipped off, Palisadians wandered in throughout the morning Monday to see the changes and to enjoy a free breakfast. Many of them were local merchants who were relieved to see a business magnet on Swarthmore back in operation. Eva Fendel, an employee at Intima, the lingerie store down the street, came in for a late breakfast. Donna Vaccarino, an architect whose family has lived in the Alphabet Streets since 1936, ordered an omelet and offered a critique. “We ate at Mort’s all the time,” she said. “It had its time. I’m happy to have a place that serves healthy, fresh food.” That sentiment is chef Silberberg’s mandate. He had been at restaurant since driving down from his home in the Highlands at 5 a.m., but was happy to answer questions and reveal the secrets of his menu. The corned beef hash, for example, includes corned beef and turkey sausage. There are 10 different fresh breads to choose from. Silberberg, 34, was also greeted by his sister Lori Bzura, a co-owner of Happy L.A., a new women?s boutique in the Highlands. She was accompanied by her son Lucas, and later by mom Jean Silberberg, who joked, “My family is going to take over the entire town.” Katrina Monroe, an administrative assistant who has moved over from Gladstone’s to The Village Pantry, was eating a bagel and cheese and extolled the vegetarian menu, which includes simple scrambles, such as the Italian, comprised of mozzarella, plum tomatoes and basil, or the California, which combines spinach, sweet onions, tomatoes, broccoli and Fiscalini cheddar ($10). There are three vegetarian sandwiches. The egg salad is mixed with spinach and roma tomatoes, flavored with fresh tarragon, and served on marble rye ($10.50). The Mediterranean is composed of hummus, artichoke hearts, roasted red pepper, olive tapenade and spinach on a warm baguette. The brie combines cheese, Granny Smith apples, and caramelized onions pressed into a baguette. For now, the cafe is still testing out the operation and will be open intermittently for breakfast and lunch. When it’s up and running, breakfast hours will be from 7 a.m. to noon; lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Take out dinner specials will be served until 6 p.m. In two or three weeks, dinner will be served in the adjacent restaurant, the Oak Room, which will be a full-service bistro and bar. With still much to learn about the business, Palisades resident Trish Riordan Torrey is enjoying her new career. “When I talk to kids who are graduating from college and wonder what their career will be, I tell them that there will be many. I’ve had four. I was a math teacher after graduating from Colorado College, then I worked on the 1984 Olympics for ABC on the technical side, then I freelanced with Paulist Productions, working on films with Fr. Elwood Kieser, and then I worked for Fox in production management for nine years.” But Trish remembers casual conversation with her dad years ago. “I said to dad that once Liz was in kindergarten I’d like to get involved in the restaurant business. Be careful what you ask for.” Liz joined her sister Jessica at New Roads School in September.