The voices that once filled the streets of the Lower East Side of 1888 have faded. But open the door to Katz’s, and for a moment, old New York comes rushing back.
Long before the glass towers rose over downtown Manhattan, the Lower East Side was one of the most densely packed neighborhoods on earth.
Pushcarts crowded the streets and thousands of immigrants, many of them Eastern Europeans, were building new lives in a lower east side neighborhood that could be chaotic, crowded, and unforgiving.
Above: Katz is seen in it's early days before taking over the entire corner.
The story begins in 1888 with brothers Morris and Hyman Iceland, who operated what was then known as Iceland Brothers, a small kosher deli. In 1903, Willy Katz joined the business and the name became Iceland & Katz. By 1910, the Katz family had taken over, and the name that New Yorkers know today began to take shape.
Katz’s served pastrami and corned beef carved by hand, pickles, knishes and matzo ball soup became a gathering place. A place to meet friends, argue, celebrate, mourn, and sit around a table with people who spoke your language and understood where you came from.
Then came World War II. With young New Yorkers heading overseas, Katz’s encouraged families to send salamis to soldiers with a slogan that became part of the deli’s history:
“Send a salami to your boy in the Army.”
For soldiers thousands of miles from the Lower East Side, a salami from Houston Street was more than food. It was a little piece of New York arriving from home.
Over time, the Lower East Side changed dramatically, as does many a New York City neighborhood. Katz’s survived and remarkably, much of the experience stayed with it.
Today and you still take a paper ticket at the door. You still walk up to the counter. You still watch the cutter slice pastrami by hand before piling it onto rye.
Whatever you do, don’t lose that ticket. Katz’s famously charges a fee for a lost one.
When Harry Met Sally... Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal filmed one of the most famous scenes in movie history inside Katz’s.
“I’ll have what she’s having.”
The table is still marked today.
Subway construction on Houston Street.
Did you know?
Katz Deli was originally located across the street, but was forced to move to it's current location when the IRT was excavating the subway.
