Image by Flickr/Maryann’s*****Fotos

Carnegie Deli will serve its last mile-high pastrami sandwich today at midnight, despite a late offer from a former dishwasher to buy the restaurant for $10 million.

Upper West Side restaurateur Sammy Musovic washed dishes for a year at the deli in the 1970s. He said he offered the money to save a landmark “that is as much a part of New York City as the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building.”

But the proposal fell on deaf ears.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“Carnegie Deli is not for sale and the family is certainly not considering any publicity-inspired offers,” deli spokeswoman Cristyne Nicholas told The New York Daily News.

She said president Marian Harper-Levine wants to keep the deli’s name and associated meat processing plant and bakery running.

Carnegie Deli opened its doors 79 years ago and was once one of several Jewish-owned delis in the theater district. In recent years, most of the other delis has closed, and Carnegie became a tourist favorite for its $20 iconic sandwiches, bursting with stacks of pastrami and corned beef.

After the New York flagship closes, there will still be outposts in Las Vegas and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount