Carnegie Deli facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Carnegie Deli |
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Carnegie Deli in Midtown Manhattan, pictured 2006
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| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1937 |
| Closed | December 31, 2016 |
| Food type | Jewish delicatessen |
| Dress code | Casual |
| Street address | 854 7th Avenue |
| City | Manhattan, New York City |
| State | New York |
| Postal/ZIP code | 10019 |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 40°45′51″N 73°58′53″W / 40.7641°N 73.9813°W |
The Carnegie Deli was a famous Jewish delicatessen (a type of restaurant serving traditional Jewish foods) that started in New York City. Its main restaurant opened in 1937 near Carnegie Hall. It was located at 854 7th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. This main location closed its doors on December 31, 2016.
Even though the original spot closed, there is still one branch at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. The deli also sells its food to other businesses. The Parker family owned the deli for three generations. It was known as one of the most famous delis in the United States. Marian Harper Levine, a second-generation owner, ran it for many years.
The restaurant was famous for its huge sandwiches. These often had at least 1 pound (about 450 grams) of meat, like pastrami and corned beef. They also served classic Jewish foods. These included matzoh ball soup, latkes (potato pancakes), and chopped chicken liver. You could also find lox (smoked salmon). The deli also offered some non-Jewish foods like ham and bacon. Their cheesecake slices were also very big, often weighing over 1 pound (about 450 grams) each.
The deli's funny motto was: "If you can finish your meal, we've done something wrong." This meant their portions were always super generous! The restaurant was also known for its lively waiters. They were said to have a classic New York attitude, which many visitors found entertaining.
Contents
A Look Back: Carnegie Deli's Story
How the Deli Began
Leo Steiner (who lived from about 1939 to 1987) was a Jewish American restaurant owner. He was a co-owner of the first Carnegie Deli. It was located near Carnegie Hall in Midtown Manhattan. While his business partner, Milton Parker, worked behind the scenes, Leo Steiner loved to chat with customers. He used his Jewish humor to entertain everyone. The deli became a popular spot for both famous people and tourists. It was right in the middle of New York's theater district.
Leo Steiner grew up in New Jersey. He joined Milton Parker and Fred Klein in 1976. Together, they bought the Carnegie Deli from its previous owners. Fred Klein wasn't very involved in the daily business and soon left.
Under Parker and Steiner, the deli became famous all over the country. Many celebrities visited, like Woody Allen, Jackie Mason, and Henny Youngman. The deli even opened other locations in places like Atlantic City, New Jersey and Tysons Corner, Virginia. Leo Steiner became a well-known face for Jewish food. He even appeared in a TV commercial for rye bread.
He once made a 60-pound (about 27 kg) Statue of Liberty out of chopped liver! It even had a torch made from a turkey wing. This was for the United States Bicentennial celebration. He was also asked to prepare corned beef and pastrami for world leaders. This happened during a big economic meeting in 1983. Parts of Woody Allen's 1984 movie Broadway Danny Rose were filmed right inside the restaurant.
Milton Parker, who passed away in 2009, wrote a book about the deli. It was called How to Feed Friends and Influence People: The Carnegie Deli. The book shared the history of his family's ownership.
Main Deli Closes and Pop-Up Fun
On April 24, 2015, the main Carnegie Deli in Midtown Manhattan had to close for a short time. This was because an illegal gas line was found. The power company, Con Edison, investigated and fined the restaurant. On July 28, 2015, the deli closed again to fix its energy lines. It reopened on February 9, 2016.
However, on September 30, 2016, it was announced that the main deli would close for good by the end of the year. The owner, Marian Harper Levine, said she needed a break. She explained that the long hours of running a restaurant in Manhattan were too much. Two other Carnegie Deli locations in Las Vegas, Nevada and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania stayed open. The deli also continued its wholesale business, selling food to other places.
At midnight on December 31, 2016, the Carnegie Deli on Seventh Avenue closed after nearly 80 years.
The Bethlehem location closed at the end of 2017. In December 2018, something fun happened! For just one week, Amazon Prime teamed up with the deli owners. They brought the Carnegie Deli back to life as a "pop-up" restaurant. This was on Lafayette Street in Manhattan. It was to celebrate the second season of the TV show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. More than six thousand people made reservations to eat there. Servers wore old-fashioned clothes. The food was sold at prices from 1958, and all the money went to charity.
In May 2019, Amazon Prime brought the Carnegie Deli back again. This time, it was a food truck! The truck traveled around Manhattan for three days. It gave out free sandwiches and cookies. This was also to help promote The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Delicious Food and Famous Fans
The deli's corned beef and pastrami were very famous. They were cured (preserved) in the deli's cellar using Leo Steiner's special recipe. This process took two weeks! The Carnegie Deli used a huge amount of meat each week to make its corned beef. Steiner once said that waiting 13 days to eat it was "heaven."
The Carnegie Deli was a favorite place for comedian Henny Youngman. The comedian Adam Sandler even mentioned the deli in his song "The Chanukah Song" in 1996. Henny Youngman jokingly called Leo Steiner "the deli lama."
The walls of the deli were covered with signed pictures of celebrities. Many menu items were named after famous people who ate there. For example, there was a corned beef and pastrami sandwich named after Woody Allen. This was because his movie Broadway Danny Rose was filmed at the deli. Some menu items also had names related to Broadway shows or Yiddish words. One funny item was a liver sandwich called "50 Ways to Love Your Liver." This was a playful nod to the Paul Simon song "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover." Many reporters from the city also loved to eat there.
In March 2012, the deli created a special sandwich for the new New York Jets quarterback, Tim Tebow. It was called the "Jetbow." This huge sandwich cost $22.22 and weighed 3.5 pounds (about 1.6 kg). It had corned beef, pastrami, roast beef, American cheese, lettuce, and tomato on white bread.
In 2021, the Carnegie Deli worked with comedian Mel Brooks. They offered special foods to go along with Brooks' book, All About Me!.
Other Carnegie Deli Locations
The deli opened several other locations in the 1980s. These included two in New Jersey: Secaucus and Atlantic City. There was also one near Washington, D.C., in Tysons Corner. However, most of these locations have since closed. One location in Beverly Hills, California, was paid for by a rich oil billionaire named Marvin Davis. He wanted the "best deli in the world" because he thought California delis weren't as good as New York ones.
The deli also had a second location on the Las Vegas Strip. This one opened at The Mirage hotel in 2005. It closed a few weeks before February 9, 2020. A third location opened in 2006 at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey. It was meant to be a "healthy choice" restaurant at the park. However, it had a smaller menu with only the most popular items. The fifth location was at the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It opened in 2009 and closed at the end of 2017.
Besides its restaurants, the Carnegie Deli also sells its famous cheesecakes and other items like T-shirts and hats online.
Gallery
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Interior of restaurant
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A pastrami sandwich from the Carnegie Deli
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A Reuben sandwich from the Carnegie Deli
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A corned beef sandwich from the Carnegie Deli
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A slice of Strawberry Cheesecake from the Carnegie Deli
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