It’s impossible to walk into Canter’s Deli and not feel a little famous. The restaurant, in Los Angeles’s Fairfax District, has enough Hollywood history to fill a book (in fact, there are two). It’s hosted some of the biggest bands in the world, and has been the setting of shows from “Mad Men” to “Curb Your Enthusiasm” to, most recently, the new season of “Euphoria.” It’s most likely the oldest Jewish deli in California, and among the most recognizable in the world.
But despite its outsized reputation and enduring goodwill with locals and visitors alike, Canter’s is navigating a new phase of life these days. And it’s not alone. A century ago, similar full-service delis numbered in the thousands nationwide; today that number has shrunk to about 100, according to Marc Canter, third-generation co-owner of Canter’s.
“It makes sense if you’re a billionaire and you need a loss,” Canter said of the deli business these days. “Or it also makes sense if it’s in your blood and you have to do it.”
Delis like Canter’s present a particular economic challenge: making signature meats like pastrami and corned beef in-house is expensive and labor-intensive. Beyond that, the curing process takes up a lot of valuable kitchen space. To Marc Canter, that’s a huge component of the decline in full-service delis. “Economically, it’s not a viable business because the food cost is too high, and the labor is too high because you manufacture,” he told SFGATE recently.
The hits have been steadily coming since the restaurant reopened from its pandemic lockdown. “It’s been probably four crazy years,” Canter explained. He co-owns the business with his sister Jacqueline Canter and their cousin Terri Bloomgarden. “Anytime there’s uncertainty in the world, people take their foot off the gas pedal and how they spend their money, and where they eat.”…