Evan Bloom
Image by evan bloom
It’s nearly impossible to separate the achievements of Evan Bloom and Leo Beckerman, the co-owners of Wise Sons deli in downtown San Francisco. But because we could only put one of these talented deli entrepreneurs on our list, we chose the marginally more vocal Bloom. The pair is responsible for bringing serious deli to a city that long resisted a well-crafted pastrami sandwich.
Along with owners of other nouveau delis — such as Noah Bernamoff, of New York’s Mile End, and Ken Gordon, of Kenny & Zukes in Portland, Ore. — Bloom, 27, and Beckerman are helping to change the deli landscape of America and preserve the most iconic of Jewish restaurants.
The pair first cooked together as undergraduates at the Jewish Student Union at the University of California, Berkeley. After pursuing professions outside the food world, the two reunited and started experimenting with making their own pastrami. The project soon turned into a weekly pop-up deli that launched in 2010; in February 2012 Bloom and Beckerman opened their 30-seat permanent restaurant.
The deli is located in San Francisco’s hip Mission District, only a few blocks from the owners’ homes. “We’re trying first and foremost to create a space that we could enjoy as neighbors,” Bloom told the Forward. As he was describing his deli, which straddles tradition and modernity, he said, half joking: “If you build it, they will come.” The area is not known as a Jewish one, but that didn’t bother Bloom. “Jewish deli is not just for Jews,” he added, and he is set to prove it.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
