Popular Toronto Deli Spreading Chutzpah Across Canada
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
An image of Zane Caplansky hanging in one of his deli’s Pearson International Airport offshoots.
Look out, world: , the hugely popular Toronto deli, is about to expand in a big way.
“Canada needs a little chutzpah, and I’ve got plenty to spare,” Zane Caplansky, the restaurant’s irrepressible founder, told the Forward. “Our goal is to become Canada’s national deli with stores from coast to coast — including Montreal. I don’t have any particular number in mind. It’s all about demand.”
Caplansky’s will offer franchises rather than open its own stores. “Each store will make some of their own menu items and some, specifically the meat, will come from us,” Caplansky said. “Consistency is important and quality is critical.”
Caplansky’s first expansions beyond its original location — two concessions at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport — have been hits. “Our airport experience has proven that we can replicate what we do and make thousands happy in so doing. It’s too early to predict what each store’s menu will look like. I plan on doing a lot of listening to franchisees and our guests,” Caplansky said.
The first new location will open May 1 in Yorkville, a tony Toronto neighborhood whose main shopping drag is known locally as The Mink Mile. “We’re doing traditional deli in a slightly untraditional way. Our Caplansky’s Yorkville location will be fast-casual, where guests order at the counter and then get served at tables. I’m totally excited to see how this works.”
How will Montreal react when a Caplansky’s eventually opens? “I think I’ll get a bunch of ‘Sacre bleu’s and lots of ‘Oy vey’s when they hear the news,” Caplansky joked. “But once they take a bite it’ll just be the dulcet tones of happy people eating and laughing.”
Michael Kaminer is a contributing editor at the Forward.
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