The Eastside Loses a Beloved Jewish Deli

The greater Seattle area is down a Jewish deli with the closure of beloved Bellevue restaurant Goldbergs’ Famous Delicatessen. Goldbergs’ shut down earlier this month after nearly 14 years, with owner Ben Cukier citing an unexpected increase in rent, parking issues, and other problems — but he also left open the possibility of reopening somewhere else, especially since most of his furnishings and equipment are in storage.

Goldbergs’ built an ardent following for its Reuben sandwiches, half-sour pickles, tuna melts, knish, lox, matzo ball soup, and other East Coast-style favorites. This shutter is especially hard to swallow as there aren’t many other places in the area that do something similar, though Gilbert’s on Main in Bellevue carries on a deli tradition of with bagels, pastrami, and a Reuben.

And yet slowly but surely, Seattle is trying to reverse the trend of Jewish gems disappearing, developing a healthy deli scene again. Dingfelder’s Delicatessen is serving noteworthy corned beef and pastrami sandwiches on Capitol Hill, Standard Bakery is working on an expansion called Zylberschtein’s in North Seattle, and Schmaltzy’s is aiming for an early 2019 opening in Frelard. Maybe the wave will carry Goldbergs’ back to its fans, too.

• 14 Seattle-Area Restaurant closures — Including What Happened to Goldbergs’ Deli [Seattle Times]
• New Jewish Deli Goes From Walk-Up to Sit-Down Restaurant in Less Than a Month [ESEA]
• North Seattle Is Getting a Jewish Deli, Too [ESEA]
• Napkin Friends’ Deli Spin-Off Finds a Home in Frelard [ESEA]
• Goldbergs’ Famous Delicatessen [Official]
• Goldbergs’ Famous Delicatessen [Facebook]