Today we’d like to introduce you to Ziggy Gruber.
Ziggy, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Kenny & Ziggy’s New York Delicatessen Restaurant is the third successful deli I’ve owned. I am also the third generation in my family to own a deli. And Texas is the third U.S. coast where I’ve attempted to show how life without a great deli is really no life at all. My grandfather Max started it all when he came to New York sometime in the early 1900s after escaping persecution (on a bicycle, no less) from Budapest. Beginning when he was 16, Max worked in several delis around the city until the time came to start his own. In 1927 he joined with brothers-in-law Morris and Izzy Rappaport to open The Rialto Deli, which had the additional claim of being the first Jewish deli to open its doors on Broadway. When I was 8, my dad, Eugene, said it was time for me to learn the business.
By this time, the family had moved to Spring Valley, New York, where we had the Cresthill Kosher Deli. It was a great, great experience, but I wasn’t sure it was what I wanted to do. Following the passing of my grandfather and with my family’s support, I enrolled at the Cordon Bleu in London (my mother is from England) and for the next two years, I learned the trade from some of Europe’s best chefs. I graduated at the top of his class and then spent the next two years working in London’s only three-star Michelin restaurants, Le Gavroche and The Water Side Inn. I have to think I am the one and only deli man to cook for the Queen of England. I worked hard and learned so much, but finally realized the deli life was in my blood. I came back to New York and took over the family deli. I stayed until the early 1990s when I set out on his own in California and opened Ziggy G’s on Sunset Boulevard. The deli was really successful, and I was meeting a lot of Hollywood stars.
Unfortunately, there was a dispute with the landlord, and I was needed in New York, so I closed it and went home. Then, a good friend, Freddy Klein, former owner of Carnegie Deli and a restaurant broker, introduced me to Lenny Friedman who lived in Houston but was from the Bronx, and his son Kenny. Lenny had a dream, an odd dream, but a dream nonetheless: to bring true New York deli food to Houston, as in Texas. How could I not say yes? (even though I was wondering if Houston knew what Jewish deli food was). We opened in 1999. It was just before computers were supposed to collapse and the world pitched into millennium madness. Fortunately, the end of the world didn’t happen, and people still have to eat, and I found myself owning the most popular delis and one of the most popular restaurants in the city. Seventeen years later, I opened a second Kenny & Ziggy’s a few miles away.
Over the years, we’ve been featured in books, a lot of television segments and in magazine articles, but in 2015, this child of the Great White Way went Hollywood. I got a big part in ‘Deli Man,” a film documentary looking at the men behind the food behind the tradition of delicatessens in Jewish culture. The film’s producer called us “arguably the finest delicatessen restaurant in the U.S.” Being a third generation deli man, the future of the delicatessen is a big worry to me. So many of the great ones are gone and more are closing. That’s why, three years ago, I helped start National Deli Month. It’s held every August 1-31, and delis in cities all over the country participate by offering special deli meals, a portion of the sales for each going to a charity in their city. It brings attention to us, our culture and what a special role we have in this country.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
You know, I’d never been to Houston before 1999, and here I was thinking about running a New York delicatessen there. There are a lot of derisive jokes on how Texans feel about New York, but when we opened, I told some of the Texas skeptics, you’re going to be biting your tongues in no time. And I was right. Actually, they were literally biting tongue, on a triple-decker sandwich that came with corned beef, turkey and Russian dressing and a side of coleslaw.
We make our own corned beef, and after a few months, one of the executives from the company we were buying our meat from came by and wanted to know what we were doing with it. He said, “you’re buying more than any barbecue place in town.” In the first few years, it was an education process for everyone. Houston was as welcoming as any city could ever be, but I had to convince a few people, they’d love chopped liver and our kasha varnishkas. And I’ve learned a lot, too. From time to time, we’ll take some local favorites and delicatize them, like our Enchilatke made with three potato pancakes (latkes) topped with cheddar cheese-stuffed jalapeños, sour cream and pico de gallo.
We have a lot of Hungarian dishes on the menu, like stuffed cabbage and goulash. Over the years, they’ve become our best selling dishes. We recently sold our 2 millionth matzoh ball. But in all seriousness, this is no business for sissies. The hours are long, there’s always some kind of problem, and there’s never getting a handle on food prices, even if you have to avoid raising prices all the time. It’s why so many delis are closing across the country. It’s a hard life, and a lot of the people who have the passion for it are getting older with no one to follow them in.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Kenny & Ziggy’s New York Delicatessen Restaraunt – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Within months of opening, Kenny & Ziggy’s became Houston’s most popular dining destination and take-out spot for breakfast, lunch, dinner and all the needed between-meal noshing. It’s become a place to develop and close many a business deal. This is true, even though names like kreplach, Zellagabetsky and kishka are a bit hard to say with a Texas drawl. Nineteen years after opening, the deli is as popular as ever and allowed me to open a second location which opened in 2016, known as Kenny & Ziggy’s West U. The design and feel of that location are as close to authentic New York deli as you can get.
And I want to emphasize the same can be said for our food. I will always see to it that we stay true to the culture. We are known best, I would say, for our huge sandwiches, but I have a big selection of Hungarian and Eastern European dishes that I take a lot of pride in. That’s the history of my family in those dishes. Another thing that makes Kenny & Ziggy’s a source of pride for me and that makes it successful, are the people working there. I can’t tell you how proud it makes me realize a majority of the staff were on the staff when we opened in 1999. That’s family, too.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
In the big picture, we are constantly being approached by people in Dallas and in Austin and other cities to open a Kenny & Ziggy’s there. It’s not out of the question, and I built the West U location as a prototype for what I would open elsewhere. But that’s always an option now, not a definite plan.
Staying true to what we are, staying authentic and still having fun with a few new, sometimes temporary additions to the men takes time, concentration and a hands-on person to see that everything is done right. I would find it hard to have a place with my name on it and not be in the middle of everything making sure it’s what people expect. I have two daughters, though. So there are some young deli mavens following right behind me.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2327 Post Oak Boulevard (in the heart of the Galleria area and business district)
5172 Buffalo Speedway (in the Plaza in the Park Shopping Center at Buffalo Speedway and Westpark) - Website: www.kennyandziggys.com.
- Phone: 832-767-1136 (West U) and 713-871-8883 (Post Oak)
- Email: ziggy@kennyandziggys.com
- Facebook: kenny & ziggy’s new york delicatessen
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