Canter's facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Canter's Deli
Canter's Deli at night
Restaurant information
Established	1931
Food type	Delicatessen
Street address	419 North Fairfax Avenue
City	Los Angeles
State	California
Postal/ZIP code	90036
Country	United States
Website	Official website: http://www.cantersdeli.com/

Canter's Deli on Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles

Canter's Deli is a famous restaurant in Los Angeles, California. It's known as a Jewish-style deli, which means it serves traditional foods like lox and bagels, corned beef, and matzoh ball soup. Canter's first opened in 1931. It moved to the Fairfax District and has been a popular spot for many movie stars and famous people ever since.

The restaurant is usually open 24 hours a day, almost every day of the year. It only closes for two important Jewish holidays: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. In 2021, the Financial Times newspaper even called Canter's one of the "50 greatest food stores in the world."

The Story of Canter's Deli

The Canter family started their first deli in New Jersey in 1924. Many Jewish families moved west to Los Angeles, and the Canters followed. In 1931, they opened a deli in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. This area had a large Jewish community at the time.

After World War II, many Jewish families moved to other parts of Los Angeles, like the Fairfax District. Canter's Deli moved with them, opening a new spot on Fairfax Avenue in 1948. In 1953, the restaurant moved again, into a much bigger building that used to be a movie theater. They made it even larger in 1959 and added a cocktail lounge called the Kibitz Room in 1961.

A Favorite Spot for Famous People

Canter's quickly became a popular place for people in show business. This was because it was close to Television City and stayed open all day and night. In the 1960s, it also became a cool hangout for rock musicians and other creative types. Many musicians grew up nearby, and the famous Sunset Strip was just a short distance away. Canter's is still a favorite spot for rock musicians today.

The deli is famous for its classic dishes like pastrami, corned beef, matzah ball soup, and challah bread. They also have a huge menu with breakfast, lunch, and dinner options. Canter's has won awards for its food. For example, Los Angeles Magazine said their waffles were the best in the city. Esquire magazine even called their Monte Cristo sandwich one of America's best sandwiches!

The Kibitz Room: Music and Memories

The Kibitz Room bar inside Canter's has its own special history. It has been a favorite place for many music stars. Famous musicians like Phil Everly, Jackson Browne, Melissa Etheridge, and even Slash from Guns N' Roses have played there. The Kibitz Room has live music every night and helped launch bands like the Wallflowers and Fiona Apple. Marc Canter, one of the restaurant's owners, even wrote a book about the early days of Guns N' Roses.

Canter's in Movies and TV

Canter's Deli has appeared in many movies and TV shows. It was featured in HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm and AMC's Mad Men. A short film called "Dough: The Musical" was also filmed there. The restaurant is even mentioned in a song by The Turtles called "Oh Daddy."

In 1993, the TV show Visiting... with Huell Howser featured Canter's in one of its episodes.

Special Events and Visitors

On October 14, 2008, Canter's celebrated its 60th anniversary on Fairfax Avenue. To mark the occasion, they sold their corned beef sandwich for just 60 cents, which was its price back in 1948!

On July 24, 2014, President Barack Obama surprised everyone when he stopped by Canter's for lunch.

Canter's has tried opening other locations over the years. They had a deli inside the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas from 2003 to 2012. They also had a spot at Dodger Stadium from 2008 to 2011. More recently, they opened and closed two other locations in Las Vegas between 2017 and 2019.

In May 2020, during community protests in Los Angeles, Canter's showed support for Black Lives Matter. They stayed open and gave out food and water to people demonstrating.

In November 2023, some hateful messages were painted in the Canter's parking lot. This happened below a mural that shows the history of the Jewish community in Los Angeles.

The History Mural

Outside Canter's Deli, next to the parking lot, there is a large mural. It was created in 1985 and tells the story of the Jewish community in Los Angeles. The mural has seven panels, starting from the left with old pictures and moving to the right. It shows Jewish people taking part in community life, businesses, and important events.

Panel 1: Early Days (1860s)

• The Wilshire Boulevard Temple, which was the first synagogue (Jewish house of worship) in Los Angeles.
• Abram Wolf Edelman, the first rabbi (Jewish religious leader) in Los Angeles.
• An early Jewish business in the city.
• The Newmarks, a well-known Jewish family from early Los Angeles.

Panel 2: Late 1800s

• A street scene from Los Angeles showing a Jewish business.
• Isaias W. Hellman, a famous banker in Los Angeles during that time.
• A Jewish family's business that made barrels.
• A special home for people with tuberculosis, which later became the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
• Emil Harris, the first Jewish sheriff of Los Angeles.

Panel 3: Early 1900s

• Children learning in one of the first Hebrew schools in Los Angeles.
• The home of one of the first Jewish families to live in Boyle Heights.

Panel 4: The 1930s

• Canter's original location in Boyle Heights.
• Albert Einstein and a local rabbi riding their bicycles in Los Angeles.
• A beautiful Jewish wedding from that time.
• A protest by garment workers in downtown Los Angeles during a strike in 1933.
• A newspaper article about a meeting where Jewish people protested against Adolf Hitler's actions in Europe.
• Lillian Copeland, who won a gold medal at the 1932 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles.

Panel 5: The 1940s

• A school bus and students at a Jewish school in Los Angeles.
• A women's group in Los Angeles collecting clothes to help people affected by the war in Europe.
• A billboard on Wilshire Boulevard saying that Jewish people must live freely.
• A U.S. Navy sailor who served during World War II.
• A group of Hadassah women getting on a train in L.A. to go to a conference.

Panel 6: The 1960s

• A Jewish youth group marching in front of nearby Fairfax High School to support peace.
• An event at the Hollywood Bowl to raise money to help Israel during the Six Day War.
• The first female Jewish religious leader in Los Angeles.
• The Pacific Jewish Center (PJC), a synagogue in Venice, Los Angeles, which had a large Jewish community then.
• Sandy Koufax, a famous pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers who is in the Hall of Fame.

Panel 7: Fairfax in 1985

• A view of Fairfax Avenue near the mural, looking towards the Hollywood Hills.
• A picture of the mural being painted, with scaffolding and workers.
• Two Orthodox Jewish men shaking hands while shopping on Fairfax.
• Women choosing fresh produce at a market on Fairfax.
• Local people waiting at a bus stop on Fairfax Avenue.

Images for kids

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  Early Canter's Menu

See also

In Spanish: Canter's para niños

• List of Ashkenazi Jewish restaurants
• List of delicatessens
• Diamond Bakery