Construction resumes at new Salsaria’s Mexican restaurant

Previously halted, construction work is now continuing on the new Salsaria’s restaurant that will be located in Tecumseh at 146 E. Chicago Blvd. Constructed at the former site of Ivy Gallery, the building is finally clean following a $390,000 Brownfield Redevelopment Grant given by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ).The new Salsaria’s in Tecumseh will become the second location. The other Salsaria’s is located at 1416 S. Main St. in Adrian, and hosts authentic Mexican food. A liquor license was approved for the Tecumseh-based Salsaria’s in the spring of 2013. The location formerly housed a dry cleaning business, in which officials found chemical contamination in soil in the basement. Tetrachloroethylene was the main contaminant found in the soil and groundwater at the site. Construction could not continue until the necessary brownfield clean up took place. Paula Holtz, Economic Development Director for the City of Tecumseh, successfully applied for and administered the grant.Kirk Valentine, owner of Sphere Project Management, is the general contractor for the new Salsaria’s location. Originally, he became discouraged during the brownfield clean up process, but now he is looking forward to continuing construction. “We had to step aside for awhile. We did some demolition last spring, and then the MDEQ had to do the clean up. During the clean up we got the foundations in during December for the kitchens, and then we had to go away for awhile. The MDEQ completed clean up in March of this year.”Valentine has renewed hope for the project, which was previously stunted by the prolonged waiting period while the brownfield was cleaned up. “We are able to begin again. There is masonry work being done, block work being done on the interior of the old building, and we’re getting our major delivery of masonry this week so building is shifted into high gear. If everything goes well we anticipate to be done in four months.” Although construction is now in fast-forward, there is still much work to be done. The remodel will add 1,000 square feet to the east side of Salsaria’s property in order to accommodate interior seating, restrooms, and an expanded kitchen. The new location will also include an outdoor seating area in what used to be a sculpture garden. “We have a couple additions slated,” Valentine said. “First is in the rear. We are adding one thousand square feet which will have the new commercial kitchen, new men’s and women’s barrier free restrooms, a server station, and a mechanical room center in the first phase edition. New outdoor patio work will be taking place. That’s what’s going on right now. If all goes well there will be another five hundred square feet of dining space added. That will be the second phase.”Valentine plans to merge the old with the new when renovating, adding in features from the original building with the brand new flooring and seating. “Taking advantage of the old Ivy shop, there will be seating for more than eighty, as well as a bar with a brick-exposed wall. It will have a real nice feel to it.”Now that construction is fully taking place, Valentine is hopeful that Salsaria’s will give a boost to Tecumseh’s economy, as well as variety when it comes to ethnic dining options. “I’m sure there will be additional jobs, and of course there’s another dining alternative,” Valentine said. “I don’t believe, besides Taco Bell, that’s there is Mexican dining in Tecumseh. The owners are really nice folks. They’ve done a nice job for the people in Adrian for a long time, so I’m sure they’ll do a nice job for you out here. They have great food, great service, and they’re a great place to hang out. They’re gonna do a great job for Tecumseh.” For Valentine, being able to work on the project again is a relief. “I’m really pleased now that we’re able to continue on. It was a little discouraging for everybody to wait that long for everything to get taken care of. Now that it’s rolling again it’s always nice to build a new restaurant.”Valentine has had experience remodeling buildings into interesting and unique settings for restaurants. One of his newest projects has been reconstructing a building for Sauce in Adrian, an Italian Grill and Pub that serves casual pasta and stone oven Sicilian pizzas. “We took a building there that had been closed for some time and renovated it, and now the owners are doing a great job with that,” Valentine said. Now that construction is finally making progress, Valentine is eager to finish the project and make Salsaria’s open to everyone in Tecumseh. “I hope that the citizens of Tecumseh will welcome the owners and cheer them on as the construction takes place. They made quite an investment, and I hope the city supports them.”