Halepaska's Sweet Shop on Rio Grande will expand into a deli
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Halepaska's Sweet Shop - Deli
302 E. Rio Grande St.
361-573-4811
Deli slated to open in January
Tentative hours: 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday
Victoria's lunch-hour offerings are on the rise.
Halepaska's Sweet Shop at 302 E. Rio Grande St. will soon expand to offer soups, salads and sandwiches.
The remodeling, which will move into the portion of the building Ventura's Tamales recently vacated, will take about two months, owner Tom Halepaska said. The new section is expected to open in January.
"It's something we'd intended to do for many years," he said. "We just recently felt it was time. The moon and Earth aligned."
Halepaska's originally opened in 1973, Halepaska said, but has operated its Rio Grande Street location since 1980.
The site will closely resemble the location at John Stockbauer Drive, he said, adding that the original idea for a deli just sort of evolved.
"We said, 'We're making fresh bread anyway, why not get cold cuts in here for sandwiches?'" Halepaska said. "Then, 'Why not soups and salads to go with the sandwiches?' People seem to be responding well to it."
Along with the added food options, the company will add eight to 10 new employees, he said, bringing the total count to about 55 people.
It will also boost the location's size to 3,600 square feet.
Expansions like Halepaska's are proof the local economy is still running fairly well, even if some sectors have seen downturns, said Randy Vivian, president of the Victoria Chamber of Commerce.
The chamber has seen several new businesses join, he said, and he has recently attended numerous ribbon cuttings.
Vivian said he's glad to see a local business continuing to prosper.
"I applaud them for that," he said. "I'm sure they are looking forward to the economy expanding in the near future."
Halepaska said he and his wife, Barbara Halepaska, aren't too worried about the upcoming changes. They've been in town for a while, he said, and the John Stockbauer Drive location's success shows they've found something that people like.
Even if soup is traditionally considered a cold-weather food, the restaurant sells just as much in the summer, he said.
"I attribute that to cold offices," he said with a chuckle.
