The UFO

AJ Dellamano
Sep 25, 2024
2 min read

Updated: Sep 29, 2024

Sept 25, 2024

When my best friend moved back to the area to be a part owner of a new deli, Ed's Delicatessen, and also an existing bar, I was more than excited to have her back. If you read the S&O story, the day we moved to the house in 2020, was the day she and her husband left us and headed west to Arizona. It was March 13, 2020.

The deli, founded by Ed Heath (cofounder of Cleveland Heath in 2011) was the catalyst to bring my best friend, Samm McCulloch and her husband Rick Kazmer back to the area. Back home. Along with the founder of Erato, Tim Foley, the four of them are this super star team with a great dynamic! Each one of them has a super strong point to bring to the table (no pun intended). With all these awards and accreditations between them and a combined 80 years of experience, all 4 are very well known in the restaurant community. They all just fire in the industry!

While attending a little friends, fam and collegue gathering at the deli a couple weeks before they opened, I took them a couple fun little things as “housewarming” gifts… but wanted to make them a clock! I had mentioned that I had intended to make one but also wanted their approval.

Samm had said “we were just talking about it today! We need a clock!”

Perfect!!!!! I didn’t give it much thought after that as we were just hanging and having a few drinks and just celebrating what we all were a little part of from the get go.

As I sat at the bar, and the darkness set outside, I noticed the way the new light fixture in the entry now cast the light on the wall in the most peculiar way…. It wasn’t very visible in daylight… but after dark there was a magic that happened!!

I stopped mid conversation and asked “is that light going to stay that way!?”

Samm commented that the fixture would stay…

“No! The light! The way it’s cast on the wall! Is that gonna stay??” I asked.

Samm said “oh!!! I don’t know”

I jumped out of my seat and went to the wall, and asked the maker of the light fixture... and the answer was yes. YES!!!!

“Can I make a clock shaped like a UFO and hang it up there???” I begged!

I’m not sure if everyone's face lit up but all the right ones did!! This set an excitement propelling forward that put in motion an obsession that I couldn’t shake!! I just wanted to get it done!!!

The very next day I started the design process. And after about 2 weeks, it was complete. And with it came more and more ideas for the use of the UFO and Ed’s Deli!!