Morning Journal/Lily Nickel State and local officials came out to celebrate Pondi’s groundbreaking with the entire restaurant staff. Pictured from left: State representative Tim Ginter, Congressman Bill Johnson, Lisbon mayor Peter Wilson, Pondi’s chief operating officer Treg Steves, and Pondi’s owner Matt Borza.

LISBON — While many restaurants and businesses are scaling back on staff and hours after a grueling year for businesses across the nation, Pondi’s Restaurant and Bar is breaking ground on a significant expansion project.

The project officially started with a groundbreaking ceremony Monday morning. Congressman Bill Johnson, State Representative Tim Ginter and Lisbon mayor Peter Wilson all helped the staff celebrate the occasion. All three men spoke highly of Pondi’s and its presence in Lisbon for the past century.

“Lisbon and Pondi’s are synonymous,” Wilson said. He also said that Pondi’s has a special place in his heart–and his family lineage. Original owners John and Annie Pondi immigrated to Lisbon from Romania, which according to Wilson, played an instrumental role in his own Romanian grandparents immigrating to Lisbon. Wilson’s grandparents worked for the Pondi’s and established themselves in the village, setting the stage for future generations, including Wilson, to be raised in Lisbon.

Congressman Johnson applauded the hard work that owners Matt and Jessica Borza have put in to making their dreams a reality.

“This is the American success story, this is a private entrepreneur putting their money, their reputation, their future into something not only for their family, but the community,” Johnson said.

During his speech, Ginter said it was nice to be invited to an uplifting and celebratory event and how it’s rare for a business to see this kind of success during these times.

Owner Matt Borza said that business is stronger than ever and they’re now able to start on a project that has been years in the making,

“The project has been a long time dream. We are excited to see it finally come to fruition,” Borza said. “A year ago, we went through our most challenging time as a business. It is because of the outpouring of support by our loyal customers and the dedication of our awesome team that we’ve decided to double down on the business and this community.”

The two-story 2,600 square foot addition in the back of the existing building will add space for up to thirty additional diners, which Borza said he hopes will solve their current issue of having to turn away hungry customers on a Friday night. The increased demand has exceeded the current capacity of the restaurant–both for dine-in and carryout customers. The upper portion of the addition will house a new kitchen and ADA compliant restrooms. When the kitchen and restrooms are moved into the new space, the original areas will be renovated for additional dine-in space. It will also allow for semi-private events, such as bridal and baby showers and business meetings.

The lower portion of the addition will house a new market concept and a secondary prep kitchen. The market will offer prepared and semi-prepared meals and dishes and other retail items, such as fresh-cut steaks, house-made sausage, soups and other specialty items. Customers will also be able to purchase Pondi’s Market Meal Kits–a kit containing fresh, pre-measured ingredients with simple step-by-step instructions and prepared sauces and sides. Borza’s business partner, Treg Steves, had a large part in forming the idea of the market. Steves was the head chef at Pondi’s for 15 years before he left to broaden his education of the industry and spent five years working in food distribution.

“We have an unparalleled culinary staff, and with this project, we can stay ahead of industry trends and offer Pondi’s fare to a wider range of customers in different fashions. We are excited to bring this facility to the community,” Steves said.

Borza thanked his 40-member staff who he said keeps the show running and has done so for the past century. Pondi’s first began serving food in 1916 and has stayed open for business since.

“We have the best team in the world,” Borza said.

lnickel@mojonews.com