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The family-owned Carnegie Deli was a New York institution - home to mammoth sandwiches, matzo ball soup and famous cheesecake. It closed its flagship location in Manhattan 10 years ago, but this week, pastrami lovers can rejoice. Not only does BJ Leiderman still do our theme music, but the Carnegie Deli has reopened its doors just a block away from its original home. NPR's Chloee Weiner paid a visit.
CHLOEE WEINER, BYLINE: There's a line outside Carnegie Deli. There are tourists from Alabama and Australia and plenty of New Yorkers on their lunch break. But the line moves quickly. Inside the place is a time capsule of the original location, even though it's in a different space.
SARRI HARPER: It feels old. Like, some people don't even realize that we were close for 10 years.
WEINER: Sarri Harper is the Jewish deli's third-generation owner. The restaurant opened back in 1937, and Harper's grandfather, Milton Parker, took over in 1976. As we walk through Carnegie, Harper points out how they've recreated the deli's original interior - checkered black-and-white floors, beef salami hanging from the ceiling, a display case filled with cheesecake and walls crowded with photographs from the many, many celebrities who ate at the original location.
HARPER: Sylvester Stallone, Sarah Jessica Parker, Stanley Tucci, of course, Adam Sandler.
WEINER: And Woody Allen, who's at the opening scene of his 1984 film "Broadway Danny Rose" at the deli. The original Carnegie Deli location closed in 2016 after a divorce in the family, plus significant legal issues, including a lawsuit that resulted in them having to pay a couple of million dollars in back wages. The family maintained the brand with smaller locations, including Madison Square Garden and an online store. But Harper says this summer just felt like the right time to come back with a full restaurant.
HARPER: I feel like it's, like, a New York renaissance. People are just like, Knick's in five, World Cup, Carnegie's back, New York's back. It's just like - it's awesome.
WEINER: But it's not completely the same. There's the new location, of course, and changes in pricing. In 2016, a pastrami on rye was about $20. Now it's almost 30. And there's a new sandwich on the menu, the Carnegie Deli Colossus.
LARA RABINOVITCH: Even though it's a reopening, and it's a celebration of the past, I want to emphasize that it's actually a tradition that has always been changing.
WEINER: Food historian Lara Rabinovitch, who goes by the nickname Doctor Pastrami, says Jewish deli is an immigrant food and used to be more niche. But it became mainstream in the mid-20th century when delis like Carnegie, Lindy's and the Stage Deli opened in Midtown near Broadway.
RABINOVITCH: Even the pastrami sandwich - it's really an amalgam of so many different traditions coming together. And, to me, that is the most New York thing possible.
WEINER: Back at Carnegie Deli, it's clear that most customers are here for one reason.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Pastrami.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Pastrami on rye.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: Pastrami more than likely.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: I'll be finishing that pastrami...
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #5: (Laughter).
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: ...Sandwich right now.
WEINER: Barry Kay (ph) is from New York. He's here to see if the food lives up to the original.
BARRY KAY: I miss it. It's been a while. I would have been here the day they opened, but I was in Minnesota.
WEINER: Kay says he's happy to have Carnegie back. In part because he misses having a bunch of good delis to choose from.
KAY: There's no more good delis. The 2nd Ave's not what it was, and all the other ones are gone. Katz's - you have to wait on line forever.
WEINER: Back in the day, Carnegie's friendly rival was Stage Deli. They shut down in 2012, and the new Carnegie Deli happens to be in the old Stage spot. For Sarri Harper, that was the cherry on top.
HARPER: It's like the Yankees and the Mets or something. Like, the two biggest rivals, and now, like, where in their stadium or, you know, where in their place. And it's cool.
WEINER: Chloee Weiner, NPR News, New York.
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