Gothamist: More Details About the 2nd Avenue Deli's Closing

Zagat Sucks!

Wed, 11 Jan 2006 15:45:33 -0500

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!!

growler

Wed, 11 Jan 2006 12:36:33 -0500

The place was overpriced and overrated. Just like the Carnegie deli still is. I'd rather eat at Katz's.

Tim N.

Wed, 11 Jan 2006 12:21:30 -0500

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.

Dave H.

Wed, 11 Jan 2006 11:28:07 -0500

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.

Jack the Black

Wed, 11 Jan 2006 11:00:49 -0500

"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!!