A Typical Stage Deli Sandwich

Today, I am mourning the passing of a New York Legend. The Stage Deli, long a famous hangout of Broadway Stars, politicians, reporters, sports stars, reputed mobsters and tourists (including me), closed it’s doors a Midnight on November 30, 2012.  According to its website, regulars included Mayor LaGuardia, Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe, Jack Benny, George Burns and Gracie Allen. Later Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson struggled to fit into its seats, but Billy Martin and Reggie Jackson fit in just fine.  Yankee catcher Thurman Munson, also frequently  visited the Stage, as did Liza Minnelli and Carol Channing. More recently Leonardo Di Caprio, Meryl Streep, Ben Stiller, Matthew Broderick and Harvey Fierstein were frequent visitors. I first visited the Stage Deli in 1978, when a bowl of Matzo Bowl Soup, a cheese sandwich and a beer set me back over $20.00. While there I ran into former school friends who were in New York seeking fame and fortune on Broadway.

According to the New York Times, one of the current owners, Paul  Zolenge, cited the cost of doing business in New York. The landlord erected scaffolding in front of the restaurant a year ago, he said, and even though it came down in September, “we lost a whole year.” The rent had gone up several times in recent years, Mr. Zolenge said, and with the lease ending in a few months, he and his partner Steve Auerbach were expecting another increase. “We just couldn’t afford to keep it going any more,” he said.

I think that another factor figured into the Star’s demise. While some letters and bloggers stated a decline in quality or the long running  competition with the Carnegie Deli down the street, I think that the general societal change in eating habits also took its toll. According to Save the Deli Blogger, David Sax, foods like pastrami and kishke (beef intestine casings stuffed with brisket fat or chicken fat, matzo meal, onions and carrots) are delicious, but they’re not health food. As much as I love good Jewish Deli food, the last time I stepped foot into a deli (other than Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor) was several years ago on a family holiday to New York. And even then, we went to the Carnegie not the Stage.

Times and tastes change, but I will remember a more glamorous time, when the Stage Deli was the toast of New York.