T-L Photo/ROBERT A. DEFRANK From noon until 2 p.m. Saturday, Gulla’s Lunch in Bellaire will be the first business showcased by the Bellaire Business Alliance, with more to be celebrated each month.

BELLAIRE — Starting Saturday, Bellaire businesses are coming together to support each other and celebrate a different establishment each month.

From noon until 2 p.m. this Saturday, the Bellaire Business Alliance, a group of business owners, will highlight Gulla’s Lunch at 3073 Belmont St.

Cindy Kuhn, BBA member and owner of The Escape Zone, said Gulla’s was the first choice as one of the oldest businesses in the village. There will be music, face painting and drawings every 15 minutes for gift cards for Gulla’s. Owner Paul Gulla will be there in a hot dog costume.

“We are a group of business owners,” Kuhn said. “We try to support each other, and we are trying our best to get people to come and experience Bellaire, to learn more about our businesses. … And just try to highlight that business.”

Kuhn said the group was formed in May of last year. She said visitors will hopefully appreciate the attractions Saturday.

“There’s some businesses that have been here for 100 years, and still there’s people that don’t even realize that they’re open. We’re trying to highlight these businesses. We’re trying to bring people in to experience the different businesses because there’s a lot of really good restaurants. We’re dedicated, we’re trying to show people what we have to offer.”

She said the response has been positive so far.

“The people on Facebook have said ‘Gulla’s is a great, great place.’ The locals know about it and they say it’s wonderful. I’m going to hope they show up in that two-hour span and show support for the business,” Kuhn said. “We all need some help with the way things are in the world.”

Paul Gulla provided a write-up outlining the long, proud history of the business.

“In the early 1900s my great-grandparents Paul Gulla and his wife Maria (Cantina) migrated from Sicily with other Italian families,” he said.

In February 1929, his great-grandfather opened up a small business called the Columbia where he sold hotdogs, fish sandwiches and soups.

“The location was here on Belmont Street one door north where we sit today. Over the years the business was passed down through the family from my great-grandfather to my grandfather to my dad and uncles, and now my dad and I run the family business. Over the years the business has grown from only having a few items to offering now breakfast, lunch and dinner,” Gulla said, adding the original dishes are still served and remain popular. The name was changed to Gulla’s Lunch in the 1940s or 1950s.

“I credit the community and the hard work and dedication of my family — past and present — and our employees for long-lasting success of what is now a staple of our community,” he wrote. “It makes me happy hearing stories from customers that come in and talk about my grandparents. Even some still talk about my great-grandparents and tell me stories of their parents bringing them in for a hotdog and then bringing their children and their grandchildren in. It’s like it is a tradition that keeps going, and that really makes you feel special.

“I’m also very happy that we somehow landed here in Bellaire ’cause there’s definitely a lot of tradition here and throughout the valley. Bellaire has been great to us and always shows strong support as do the other towns that surround us. With that being said, I just like to say that I love Bellaire and ‘By Golly It’s A Gulla,'” he wrote, concluding with the restaurant motto.

Afterward, Gulla said he was proud to have his business selected as the first to be showcased.

He said coming together was especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic, as many in the community chose to shop and eat local.

“When we were on the lockdowns and we were only able do carry-out, the community pulled together and really everybody in the valley was just going out, trying different places to eat and taking the food home and eating it. I feel that we actually created new customers,” Gulla said. “I feel we can build off of that coming out of the pandemic. People’s out doing more.”

Kuhn said more celebrations are being scheduled for the coming months.

“We might have to group some together that are close together,” she said.

On June 18 the BBA will highlight two side-by-side businesses, the Barn Furniture, which dates from 1952, and the Escape Zone, a mystery puzzle experience owned by Kuhn.

“The game of Clue brought to life. It’s a timed game. … You have 60 minutes to solve the crime, and you feel like you’ve stepped back in time. … You feel like you’ve entered another era where a crime has happened.”

Kuhn said the events will take place in spring, summer and fall.