New Haven Independent

As the 32-year-old chef tries out new dishes at State Street Bistro and Pizza, others are watching — and hoping his enthusiasm will spark a revival in the Cedar Hill neighborhood.

Leon was born in Israel and grew up in Cheshire. He opened his restaurant at 1390 State St. about five months ago.

On a recent evening, he was filling orders for his deal of the week: a medium cheese pizza for $6.99. People ask him why he bothers to compete with the legendary pies from Pepe’s, Sally’s and Modern.

“I never said I was better than Pepe’s,” he said. “But my food? My food is good.”

Leon makes a respectable slice. But he’s quick to point out his expertise expands far beyond that.

“There’s nothing I can’t cook,” declared the chef. “I have a library of 100 cookbooks at home.”

Leon earned his chops working beside Jean Pierre Vuillermet, cooking high-end French cuisine at New Haven’s Union League Cafe. He picked up the trade in the kitchen for the last 10 years, including learning from chef Daniel Boulud in New York.

State Street Bistro is Leon’s first attempt at running his own business. He has gained some traction with a small catering business, sending international dishes like goulash, bratwurst, and apple strudel to Yale events.

The food at State Street Bistro is all made from scratch. With his elite training, Leon’s dream is to open a gourmet restaurant downtown. He considers his corner bistro a first step.

The property at the corner of State and Rock Streets sits across from an auto repair shop, near the Hamden border. Before I-91 was constructed, the building was home to a roadside diner on what was then a main thoroughfare. In recent years, 1390 State was used as a warehouse and most recently sat vacant.

Leon had his eye on the empty building for a while. “I used to drive by there all the time,” he said.

“Man, that would be a great place for pizza,” he’d say to himself.

Once he rented the building, renovating it became “a family affair,” he said. His sister did the decorating; the windows sills are lined with cacti. A flat screen TV looks out into a newly tiled space, with IKEA-style stools lined neatly against the walls.

Leon has one full-time kitchen staffer, and others who make delivery runs. A Cedar Hill neighbor has been pitching in, too.

Cedar Hill Revival?

Meanwhile, his enthusiasm has caught the attention of those around him.

Marie Gallo, who has run Gallo’s Appliance at 1362 State St. for 36 years, sees Leon as a blast of “positive energy.” She has been trying to revive the Cedar Hill Merchants Association from dormancy.

Leon’s bistro is exactly what Gallo wants to see — a committed new business owner who takes care of his property and takes interest in the neighborhood.

“We’ve been wanting a business like his around,” Gallo said.

Gallo approached the city economic development office a year and a half ago about helping revitalize Cedar Hill.

Economic Development Officer Mike Pinto said some parts of town — downtown, Grand Avenue, Whalley Avenue, further south down State Street — have strong merchant groups that take care of their surroundings and support each other. But Cedar Hill didn’t have a strong, cohesive group. The city has been meeting with the Cedar Hill folks, as well as fledgling groups in Dixwell and Kimberly Avenue, to help organize, revitalize, and tackle “basic cleanup and safety issues,” Pinto said.

The focus is a stretch of State Street through Cedar Hill, a neglected pocket of East Rock that suffers from drug dealing and prostitution and where neighbors often bemoan a lack of city services.

The goal is to “rebrand” the commercial strip and to “create a sense of community and cooperation out there,” said Clay Williams, a fellow economic development officer.

Williams runs the city facade program, which reimburses businesses 50 percent of the cost of redoing their signs and storefronts, up to $30,000. The program has been heavily used downtown, and less so in the neighborhoods. The program has been cut back, said Williams, so he aims to use it in targeted areas where it could make the most impact.

Leon’s new bistro looks like a prime candidate for that program, Williams said.

The city sees Leon’s business as “a demonstrator project,” said Pinto. If Leon uses the program to put up more prominent signage, that could prove a “catalyst” for other businesses to partner with the city to spruce up their properties, too.

“We think that [Leon] can be a key player,” Williams said. “By virtue of his enthusiasm, some of the creative things he’s done without a lot of money, that business can be a key business to help us take additional steps toward organizing that business district there.”

Pitching In

On a recent evening, Zack (who didn’t give his last name) sat on a chair outside a store across from the Hess Station, apparently guarding the door. He jumped at the chance to point a reporter toward the new pizzeria.

“Tell him you were lost, and Zack sent you!” he said with glee.

Leon met him and took him in, giving him money to clean up the restaurant at night. Then he found out Zack is the son of a baker. He used to work beside his father at the family’s bakery. Next week, Leon plans to tap into that talent by trying out Zack’s skills at making bread.

Leon has been logging long hours in that space: He’s open 12 hours per day, six days a week. Business has been good on the weekends and during lunch hours, when he sends deliveries to the courthouse, health department or other downtown offices.

During the slower moments, he works on his deals.

The knack for making business deals is in his blood. Leon grew up in Israel. He and his parents moved to the U.S. when he was 10. His dad worked as an auto mechanic, then moved up to dealing cars. Leon shares the traits of a hardworking salesman — he greets customers with a huge smile, makes conversation, and thinks hard about what will bring them back.

His latest suggestion came from his sister: Find a way to feed a family for under $25.

When he’s not working on coupons, he’s trying out new dishes.

“I still have to figure out the market,” he said.

Right now, his best sellers are steak and cheese and pizza. The menu ranges from Italian panini and pastas to fried chicken and more healthful wraps. He threw in a few Israeli specialties, too.

In Israel, he said, “everyone’s on the run.” There isn’t time to sit down for a burger and fries. So the fries come wrapped inside the sandwich, along with the falafel and tahini.

“It’s like, grab ‘n’ go,” he explained.

Next week, he plans to explore further around the globe, testing out buffalo wings with Thai dipping sauce.