Results tagged “jacklebewohl”

Good news for old-school New Yorkers: the new 2nd Ave Delicatessen is expected to open sometime next week in its new Murray Hill Location on 33rd Street, near Third Avenue. Lovers of the deli’s famous matzo ball soup and pastrami sandwiches were devastated last year when, after a half-century in business, the 2nd Ave and 10th Street legend was snuffed out. The closure came in the wake of a bitter rent dispute between deli owner Jack Lebewohl and the landlord over rent increases; the soul was promptly siphoned from the site and turned into a Chase bank (though the Yiddish theater “Walk of Fame” on the sidewalk remains).

Whether or not it's the 2nd Avenue Deli, we just hope some favorites from the old menu will return, like the corned beef, mushroom barley soup and incredible tuna fish.

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?

By the time we got to the 2nd Avenue Deli, the sign was totally torn down and a "dismantling" truck had arrived. But 2nd Avenue Deli owner, Jack Lebewohl (right), was on the street, talking to reporters (he confirmed that it was in fact closed) and receiving condolences from neighborhood residents. Every few seconds, someone would stop in shock, ask what was happening, and then something along the lines of, "What a crime!" or "We can't go to Katz's - it's been going really downhill!"

A shuttered 2nd Avenue Deli was an unfamiliar site on an otherwise regular Thursday - except that people knew that owner Jack Lebewohl was engaged in a kind of protest against his new owners, Jonis Realty, over a $9,000 increase in rent to $33,000 per month. The NY Times sets up the situation as an inevitable turn of the real estate market, with some interesting details: Some sort of rent increase was part of a deal with the previous owners 15 years ago (!) - and Jonis apparenlty agreed to knock off $3,000 of the rent. Huh - if someone generates a model that can project, hmm, let's see, what an acceptable margin of profit would be, over 15 years, and see how that might offset a 25% increase in rent, with considerable new capital investments to make, taking into account inflation, wage issues, and price elasticity (or inelasticity), please tell us!

Noooo!!! The 2nd Avenue Deli has been closed since Sunday - and may stay that way - because owner Jack Lebewohl thinks his new rent is too high. Lebewohl told the NY Times, "My current rent is $24,000 a month for 2,800 square feet. They want $33,000. I can't afford that." He added that he felt the restaurant would need to renovate in order to meet various health codes, which have been getting stricter. The new owners didn't return calls to the Times, but Gothamist wonders if various Kosher-food loving New Yorkers will put on a benefit to reopen it, a la CBGB's. Come on, food bloggers - let's band together!

Lebewohl has invited Paul Reiser and his mom (Lower East Side residents at one point), Mayor Bloomberg, President Bush, and John Kerry. He tells the Post, "I told the president if he's going to be here, we'll make him a sculpture in chopped liver." Oooh...a liver Bush. Gothamist is sure we've got some talented artists reading this site: If you make a chopped liver bust of President Bush, please let us know.