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!
Would you miss the 2nd Avenue Deli? We've gotten Passover fixings from there before, and Gothamist loves the 2nd Avenue Deli's tuna - with one sandwich, you get enough for three people! The restaurant celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. And the 2nd Avenue Deli provided an alibi for a man falsely arrested during 2004's Republican National Convention.
