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The NY Times fills in some more holes with the 2nd Avenue Deli's real estate trials, which seemed to culminate in yesterday's gutting of the 2nd Avenue and 10th Street location. It turns out that owner Jack Lebewohl "owed $107,000 in back rent and other charges and that eviction proceedings had begun even before the deli closed." Well, then that $9,000 increase on $24,000 rent would have been really hard to deal with. Next tidbit: Apparently some kosher deli operators have already called the buliding's owners to inquire about the space! And finally, Lebewohl seems open to the possibility of reopening the deli elsewhere in Manhattan - but the new location won't have some of the old deli's old elements, as the clock and "Abe Lebewohl" (Jack's brother who founded the deliand was murdered in 1996) sign will go to Abe's children. Hmm, would you go to a reopened 2nd Avenue Deli elsewhere? Or another kosher deli that opens up at 2nd and 10th?
Newsday mentions the internet fervor for this story - "Local blogs and foodie message boards characterized Tuesday's scene as 'tragic' and 'heartbreaking,' and featured photographs of Lebewohl shuttering an empty, nameless storefront" - plus gets Tim Zagat to weigh in: "I hope we don't have to talk about the 2nd Avenue Deli in the past tense. It's too good a restaurant to be allowed to close. Pretty much anything [at the 2nd Avenue Deli] was good. The pastrami sandwich was amazing, but even the hot dogs were sensational."
Eater has had some great coverage of the closing.
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"One of the deli building's new owners, Martin Newman of Jonis Realty, said yesterday that he had tried to accommodate Mr. Lebewohl, who was a real estate lawyer before he was a deli man."
I'm glad he's not MY real estate lawyer! What a crook!!
That back rent factor coupled with the very public appeals by Lebewohl certainly makes this look like a cynical attempt to pull a "CBGB" and utilize the goodwill of New Yorkers to chisel some money out a landlord. I don't think anyone's coming out of this looking very good.
So Jack was a deadbeat, huh? That explains a lot.
When I read that 1)the lease was inherited, so Jack knew the increase was coming for a while, and 2) that the new landlord opened negotiations to lower the increase, and 3) first he said he was closing for renovations, the employees knew nothing, and the interior was coming down, it was starting to sound like a little more than the standard high rent eats NY institution story.
It's a damn shame. How does someone who's got a full restaurant and charges $17.95 for tongue on rye not pay the rent? Seems like he was the one who didn't care too much about the NY institution.
Either way, it's gone. Sniff.
The place was overpriced and overrated. Just like the Carnegie deli still is. I'd rather eat at Katz's.
Tim Zagat to weigh in: "I hope we don't have to talk about the 2nd Avenue Deli in the past tense. It's too good a restaurant to be allowed to close. Pretty much anything [at the 2nd Avenue Deli] was good. The pastrami sandwich was amazing, but even the hot dogs were sensational."
This just shows the Zagat Survey is a POS!!