UPDATE: Hobby’s Deli to partially reopen Wednesday after fire tore through iconic downtown Newark eatery

Hobby’s Delicatessen & Restaurant, a downtown Newark icon for decades that recently served as a backdrop for the filming of the “Soprano’s" prequel movie, was badly damaged in a fire Monday shortly after the lunchtime rush and will be closed indefinitely as the owners assess the damage and repair the restaurant.

“No one is hurt, so that’s the important thing,” said Marc Brummer, whose family has owned Hobby’s for more than 60 years. “The fire department came quick. They were terrific.”

Brummer said Tuesday morning the fire appears to have been electrical and started in the ceiling in the bar area. He and his family want to get the business back up and running as soon as possible.

“It could be anywhere from a few days to a few weeks,” Brummer said. “It’ll start to become a little more clear later today.”

He estimated 25 employees and a couple dozen customers were in the deli when he started to smell something burning around 2 p.m.

“I was actually sitting with a few friends in the dining room,” said Brummer. “I ran around trying to figure out what was going on. We got everyone out.”

The fire damage was primarily contained to the ceiling, though smoke and water damage was more extensive, he said. The kitchen was spared major damage and electricity was restored to the building quickly to keep the refrigerators and freezers running. Brummer said he was able to get inside the deli briefly to recover catering orders through the busy holiday weekend that had to be canceled.

The iconic neon Hobby’s sign, however, did not fare as well. The fire pushed through the front facade and just the first two letters of the “Delicatessen” portion of the sign still stand. While disappointing, Brummer said the top priority is getting the business reopened and they’d do their best to restore the sign later.

Hobby's Deli in downtown Newark was damaged in a fire Monday and will be closed indefinitely as the owners assess the damage and make repairs.

Fortunately, Brummer believes the “Soprano’s” prequel “The Many Saints of Newark” is done filming around Hobby’s. The streets around the deli were transformed in May to resemble the late 60s, but the Hobby’s sign was one of the details that didn’t need to be changed.

“It was a good thing they filmed when they did. We should be done,” Brummer said. But if there’s a need for reshoots, “CGI is quiet effective these days.”

Scenes from the set of the "Sopranos" prequel movie "The Many Saints of Newark." The production filmed on Branford Place in Newark May 7, taking the street back in time to 1967, the year of the Newark riots.Amy Kuperinsky | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

This is not the first time Hobby’s has been hit by fire damage. A blaze in September 1992 destroyed the deli and damaged a sign shop above. That fire started in the kitchen and quickly spread through the first floor. Four people who lived in apartments above the deli had to escape through a window and onto a roof of an adjoining building.

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