The Economy and Delis
Welcome back everyone. I’ve been enjoying the vacation by doing sweet nothing, and that includes Save the Deli updates, though I’ve been eating plenty, including copious amounts of chicken soup because it’s flu season. So stock up.
What does 2009 have in store for delis? Probably a tough year. People are spending less, and that weekly trip for corned beef might just be one of the luxuries many of us cut back on. But delis have weathered many downturns before, and while these undoubtedly hurt some delis, it was also a boon to others. Because delis are places filled with copious amounts of comfort food, where people feel warm, and embraced, and happy, they tend to do better in tough times than fine dining restaurants. During the great depression, many delis sold cheap cuts of meat, scraps, and ends of salami (nickle a shitkls), to keep their poorest customers fed. Some even lent the money banks. Delis face challenges in the near future, but I think they’re well positioned to ride it out.
To explore this, a friend of mine, Amanda Blitz, recently did a story for her Columbia journalism school program, focusing on the economy’s potential impact on the 2nd Ave Deli.
January 6th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
A nicely done piece!