The mile-high corned beef sandwiches have long been the gold standard against which all other deli creations have been measured. But at the end of this year, that pleasantly fatty and warming pickled brisket between slabs of chewy rye slathered with mustard, will be but a memory. After 79 years, the Carnegie Deli is closing its doors.
The New York Post reports:
Restaurant owner Marian Harper Levine tearfully broke the news to 60 heartbroken employees on Friday morning.
Levine, 65, said, “At this stage of my life, the early mornings to late nights have taken a toll, along with my sleepless nights and grueling hours that come with operating a restaurant business.”
“I’m very sad to close the Carnegie Deli but I’ve reached the time of my life when I need to take a step back,” Levine said. Her family has owned the Carnegie since 1976.
No sadder than all of New York and pilgrims to the Big Apple for whom no visit was complete without a “senovich” or a “piece cheesecake” at The Carnegie.
Levine told the Post she will continue to license Carnegie Deli outposts in Las Vegas and Bethlehem, Pa., as well as at some sports venues. But Vegas and Bethlehem are lightyears away from Seventh Avenue in Manhattan. You can take the pastrami out of New York, but when you do, you take New York out of the pastrami.
So long, Carnegie. We hardly knew ye.
