Reopening Soon: Papa Dan’s Fans Could Have a Slice in Hand Around Thanksgiving If All Goes as Planned

For loyal customers of Papa Dan’s Pizza and Pasta in Palm Desert, there is hope in the air as this year’s holiday season approaches: You could be enjoying your favorite pizza or pasta dish on the day after Thanksgiving, or certainly by Christmas Eve.

“We finally have started construction,” said Ira Mosley, owner for 40 years of this Coachella Valley culinary institution on Country Club Drive in Palm Desert. “Right now, they’re in the demolition stage of removing some walls and bathrooms and ceilings and all the garbage on the floors from prior tenants. They’re getting the building prepped for actual construction. The final plans for the kitchen were approved last week, so those are now getting ready to go to the city. The plans for the restaurant’s to-go counter, bar, all that kind of stuff, hopefully will be done this week.”

He added with a laugh: “They’re still telling me that at end of November or maybe early December, we should be ready to go. But you know how that stuff goes.”

On April 14, the building at the eastern end of the Plaza de Monterey Shopping Center which had served as the only home to Papa Dan’s since 1984 burned to the ground as the result of an arson incident. Mosley wasted no time in securing a new location at the opposite end of the same mall in a building that had been long vacant. At that time, he said he hoped to re-open by October, but inevitable delays involving the architects’ plans, obtaining the necessary permits and gutting the interior have pushed back his re-opening.

“Unfortunately, we had to change architects, because the ones that were supplied by the insurance company were recommended out of Los Angeles—and to say that they were expensive doesn’t even come close,” Mosley said. “So I decided not to use them, and then we had to choose someone out here. There was some delay, but it’s going now. All I can tell you is, it’s going.”

Shortly after the fire, Mosley expressed concerns about how his employees were going to support themselves. He was relieved then to know that all of his employees would be paid for 60 days after the closure—but how have those members of his operation fared in the months since that salary support ran out?

“There are six managers who are actually being paid until we reopen,” Mosley said. “The rest are on unemployment and are doing OK. I’ve been in contact with a good part of them, or if I haven’t, then my general manager has. We set up a GoFundMe page for the employees back at the very beginning. A couple of them have called (to say) they couldn’t make their rent, or couldn’t do this, and couldn’t do that just on the unemployment payments, so I gave them money from that GoFundMe, and they’re doing fine.”

Mosley said that most of his employees want to remain with Papa Dan’s, despite months of unemployment. “For some, we’ve spent 30 years together, and they don’t want to go anywhere else. So, I said, ‘Good.’ Because, between you and me, opening a new restaurant with all new employees would be a nightmare worse than dealing with the insurance companies.”

When the staff is back and the doors are open again, what can Papa Dan’s afficionados look forward to at the new location in terms of interior ambience and the menu?

“Obviously, 40 years later, there’s going to be a difference in some design,” Mosley said, “but part of the biggest problem with the architects was they kept giving me plans that looked very corporate. It looked like Chili’s or Carrows or somebody else, but I think they finally got that I want it to look like it did before. I know it can’t be exactly the same, but (I’m looking for) that Old World, close, homey, crowded, slightly darker and very mellow and noisy feel. Obviously, when you build stuff new to look old, it still looks new, so we’re doing our best to get it as close to the old place as we can.”

As for the menu, Mosley plans to stick with what made Papa Dan’s popular.

“We had a huge menu, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s going to stay the same,” Mosley said. “Yes, there are some new items that will go on which we do yearly anyway, but I don’t really plan on changing it. It’s been that way for all these years, and people like the stuff, and the food is good. I’ve probably gotten a hundred emails from customers saying, ‘Since you’ve been gone, we’ve tried, like, half a dozen other pizza places in the valley,’ but they said it’s just not the same.”

The Papa Dan’s team has had some catering jobs in recent months, which have kept them in touch with some customers, and allowed them to practice their skills while bringing in some revenue.

“Recently, we did a catering in Sun City for 250 people,” Mosley said. “This was something we had committed to prior to the fire, and it was for a function that they were having at Shadow Hills. It was actually the third or fourth one we’ve done during this summer. Monterey Country Club has graciously offered me use of their kitchen to do these, and that’s what enabled us to keep our commitments, so these people didn’t have to go searching for another caterer. In fact, I just got an email this morning from a lady who’s having a wedding next April. That’s a long way off, and she asked, ‘Do you think you’re going to be ready?’ And I replied, ‘Yes. I will.’”

Mosley said both his construction company and the city of Palm Desert have been doing all they can to get Papa Dan’s open again.

“I think the city is kind of pushing a little,” he said. “They’ve been unbelievably cooperative. A couple of plans we’ve had to turn in got approved almost instantaneously. They are not charging me for any fees on any of the plans. The City Council and the mayor have told the Planning Department to expedite anything that comes through for me, and to put it at the top of the list. They want me back open by season as well. According to them, and I hate to say this, I’m a ‘living legend.’”

Another beloved restaurant, D’Coffee Bouteaque, was also destroyed by that April fire. Just a few storefronts away from Papa Dan’s, owners Mona and Nestor Rodriguez had created a unique coffee, breakfast and lunch hideaway. The numerous fans of the spot have been waiting for word about what the future would hold—and on Sept. 11, the owners posted on Facebook that they had found a location where they could re-open their shop, but that they weren’t going to share details until arrangements had been settled. (The Independent reached out to ask for more details, but no reply came prior to our press deadline.)

Back at Papa Dan’s new space, Mosley is pushing ahead, but he recognizes the challenges before him and his team.

“Some of the equipment’s already been ordered, like the ovens and stuff, that takes six to eight weeks to get,” Mosley said. “The hoods have been ordered, which have to be custom-made. Everyone is telling me it’s a go. They said that even if they have to work day and night, they’re going to make sure it gets done—and we will see. Promises are promises.”