The Rendezvous holds a special place in the heart of Ana Melendez.


A


na moved to Lancaster from Puerto Rico with her mother when she was 14 and has lived most of her life in the city.


She visited Te Rendezvous frequently to pick up her favorite items on the menu – a sub and french fries.


On the day Te Rendezvous closed its doors, December 31, 2019, Ana joined the line of loyal customers all clamoring to get one last taste.


“Te line was so long,” Ana remembered. “I’ll never forget it. It was wrapped around the building. I was finally standing close to the door and one of the employees came outside and said they were running out of ingredients. He started counting people and he said the line is going to stop ‘right here,’ which was where I was standing. He said to me, ‘You are the last one to go inside.’” Ana was granted a unique honor that day, she got to buy the final cheesesteak.


In a surprising twist, The Rendezvous returned to the city in its same location –


now on the ground floor of Landis Place on King.


After Ana made it through the doors and ordered, Roger Gaspari, the owner of Te Rendezvous Steak Shop at the time, signed the paper around her cheesesteak. Ana was delighted and promptly took a picture. When she returned home, she put the cheesesteak in her refrigerator and later gave it to her son-in-law to enjoy.


Many mourned the closing of the steak shop, which had been a staple in the community for decades. But then, in a surprising twist, Te Rendezvous returned to the city (with new owners related to the previous proprietor) in its same location – on the ground floor of Landis Place on King.


Ana now lives right upstairs! One of the first residents to move into Landis Place on King last June, Ana has found a new community in the heart of the city she loves.


Living at Landis Place on King has been a wonderful experience for her. “It’s nice and quiet here and everyone is so friendly,” Ana shared. “When I come down from my apartment, everyone says ‘Hi’ and if I come in with groceries, someone will say ‘Why didn’t you let me know you were coming in with groceries? I would have helped you carry them!’” She appreciates the diversity of residents in the building – she particularly enjoys that there are other bilingual residents and some members of the staff with whom she can converse in Spanish.


Ana is thrilled that the same restaurant that supplied her with so much good food – not to mention so many good memories – is now just an elevator ride away. Ana and her son were invited to attend a private opening for Landis Place on King residents on the Friday before the grand opening of Te Rendezvous. So, in addition to being the last person to buy a famous original Rendezvous cheesesteak, Ana was also one of the first to buy one in Te Rendezvous, reborn.


Landis.org | FLOURISH | Spring 2024 • 11


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