by TM Petaccia

One thing about Jeff Tonidandel and Jamie Brown: they aren’t shy about changing gears when they feel the time is right. In 2022, they made the call to transform the very popular Crêpe Cellar, a successful restaurant with a solid 13-year run, in favor of the now, some would say even more popular Ever Andalo, which sports a Michelin recommendation.

This week, they announced NoDa favorite Reigning Doughnuts, a cubbyhole window-walkup on the side of Growlers Pourhouse, will be shutting down February 15 after seven years. In its place will be Olivelli Deli, a sandwich and soft serve space. The name is the result of a brainstorming session. “We thought it had a great ring to it,” Brown says. “Plus, we’ll be putting a fun olive with each sandwich.”

“We had a lot of fun doing the donuts, a great use of 82 square feet,” Tonidandel says. “But over time we haven’t been growing. Things have been kind of flat and there’s a general trend moving away from donuts. You’ve seen a lot of donut shops close recently.”

Locally, the doughnut trend has been dropping in the Charlotte area as evidenced by the notable closures of Pepperbox Doughnuts and the shuttering of the brick-and-mortar Beyond Amazing Donuts (they still do farmers markets and popups). Rather than ride it to the end, the restaurant power couple began reevaluating what else could work in the ultra-tight footprint.

Sandwiches quickly emerged as the answer. “We have some cool Italian ingredients already at Ever Andalo,” he says, “along with our sandwich experience at Growlers. We figured we could cross-utilize some of those things plus come up with some new stuff that’d be pretty cool and really fun.”

When open the takeout spot will offer 5-7 sandwiches along with chips, soft drinks, and a few sides. Tonidandel envisions sides such as jardinière or specialty pickles. The actual menu is still in development, with its creation a teamwork effort consisting of Tonidandel, Ever Andalo executive chef Sam Sheehan, Haberdish’s Lex Falardeau, and other members of the Tonidandel-Brown Restaurant Group.

“We’ve gotten more teamwork oriented as things have become a lot more specialized,” Tonidandel says. “Even something like making a sandwich takes a lot more thought. We’re trying to use everybody’s talents.”

One of the biggest operational challenges will be bread. Olivelli Deli will bake its own rolls, such as Kaiser and others, with the pastry team at Ever Andalo taking that responsibility.

When it comes to the Olivelli soft serve, Tonidandel is enlisting the expertise of Michelin-cited mixologist, Colleen Hughes. “We’ll definitely have a vanilla and we’re working on the second flavor,” he says. “We’re developing our own base. It’s complicated but it’s been a fun project to work on.”

While the goal is to open Olivelli Deli sometime in April, the new buildout depends of how fast the tiny space can be converted, including one big obstacle. “We have to get the doughnut machine out, Tonidandel says. “It’s a bit of an endeavor to get it out of there. Then we have to get the ice cream machine in, test a whole bunch of stuff, figure out a lot of operations. We need to orchestrate everything very carefully.”

Despite the logistical hurdles, Tonidandel says the team is energized by the transition. “We’re really excited about the project and having fun with it. We can’t wait to give the space a new life.”