Time has run out for Time Deli, a 67-year-old institution in San Jose’s Burbank neighborhood as well known for its iconic clock sign as its garlic tri-tip sandwiches.

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Virtual spin on San Jose’s Mexican Independence Day celebration Owner Donald Bergh said Tuesday that he’s not happy about closing the deli’s doors for good on Saturday at 3 p.m., but he ultimately had no other option.

The business was sued a few months ago for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Attorney Scott Johnson has filed thousands of lawsuits against restaurants and other businesses alleging ADA violations in the Bay Area in recent years. Other mom-and-pop businesses along West San Carlos Street and throughout San Jose, including the popular Falafel’s Drive-In, have been hit with similar complaints.

Bergh settled the suit, but he and the building’s owner decided the necessary renovations would be too much for the business to continue. “It just opened up a can of worms,” he said.

A note to customers avoids the details, striking a grateful tone instead: “We have enjoyed tempting you with our sandwiches & BBQ for the last 67 years,” the sign reads. “We thank you for your support, loyalty and kindness over the years.”

Time Deli was opened as Time Market on Bascom Avenue in 1950 by Sam Carlino, Sr., and his brothers Vic, Joe, Chuck, Steve and Pete. The market served produce, meat and gourmet grocery items that were not often found in the markets around a then growing San Jose. Sam Carlino, who went on to open Sam’s BBQ with his son in 1992, sold off his part of the business to his brother Joe in 1979. The deli has changed hands just a couple of times, and Bergh bought the business in 2008.

Walt Bennett, a San Jose investment broker, has been eating at Time Deli for about 30 years and was among a steady stream of customers that stopped by for a late lunch Tuesday. “It’s atrocious,” he said of the reason behind Time Deli’s demise. “You need to be in compliance with the law, but there has to be a way to give a business time to correct the problems.”

Bennett’s favorite menu item is the chicken noodle soup, but he’s been around the menu a bit over the years. “It’s always been good food,” he said. “The Italian stuff is excellent.”

Edward Yu, who said he’s been visiting Time Deli since he moved to the area about 20 years ago, is a fan of the tri-tip sandwich and likes the ravioli, though his son disagrees. “It’s a real comfort food place, and it’s convenient,” he said. “It’s a real bummer that they’re closing because of this.”

Time Deli will live on in a way, though. Bergh plans to continue making potato salad — another customer favorite — and keep the catering business going. He also recently purchased a food truck to sell the deli’s garlic tri-tip sandwiches.

“I was going to call the truck something else, but now that this has happened, it’s going to be Time,” Bergh said, adding that fans can stay updated on the truck’s launch on its Facebook page.

FITTING TRIBUTE: More than 1,000 people gathered at Bellarmine College Prep on July 1 to celebrate the life of longtime theater director Tom Alessandri, who died June 3 just before he was set to direct the Bellarmine Alumni Theatre production of Tom McEnery’s play “Swift Justice.”

Alumni performers returned to pay tribute to Alessandri, a mentor and friend who was a Bellarmine alum and a 42-year member of the faculty. Bellarmine President Chris Meyercord announced that the theater at the Sobrato Center for the Humanities and the Arts — a venue Alessandri was instrumental in visualizing prior to its opening in 2010 — would be renamed the Tom Alessandri Main Stage Theatre.

JAPANTOWN SHOWS OFF ITS ARTISTIC SIDE: San Jose’s historic Japantown district has always had artistic flair, and it’ll be showcasing a great deal of it Friday with the launch of a Second Fridays Art Walk for the summer months. Eighteen merchants will be participating by displaying art or selling handmade crafts, including Roy’s Station, the newly opened Classic Loot boutique and the Arsenal art gallery.

The event’s being curated by Empire Seven Studios, which also facilitated the creation of so many of the neighborhood-boosting murals around Japantown. Those murals are a key part of the walk, of course, and they’re listed along with other participants on a walking map available at jtownartwalk.com.

The art walk returns on Aug. 11 and Sept. 8.