Open for Business: Tuesday to Sunday Noonish ’till 9pm
Thank you to everyone who helped make our Grand Opening such a wonderful success. The musicians who volunteered their time, my suppliers who pitched in, my team of servers and cooks who brought their best, my family, friends and guests – well over 200 people in all – helped kick this little deli into high gear. It was really the bar mitzvah party I always wanted (mine was cancelled due to a death in the family). And like any good Deli Mitzvah, I emerged feeling like I am now officially a Deli Man with all the rights and responsibilities that come with that.
In various interviews and conversations I talk about my love for deli being “in my genes” but it wasn’t until Lara did some research that I found out that my namesake, Shnear Zalman Duchman live at 112 Nassau Street in Kensington Market. Reb Duchman, my great-grandfather was one of Toronto’s first kosher butchers. Lara discovered old listings in Toronto Jewish directories as well as archival photos and she made a gift of these for me on the day of my opening. Later on in the evening my father confirmed that he actually lived in that same house himself in the 40’s. All of which confirms that my affinity and desire to find a location for my deli in or near Kensington Market is “Beshert” – meant to be.
It was wonderful to have so many members of my family with me on this special day. As many people know, I’ve had a difficult relationship with my family for many years and it was wonderful to have my parents at the party. This is simply more evidence that when you follow your heart, anything can happen. Change is the only constant in life. And if I could come up with another worn out cliche I’d insert it here. Sorry.
Speaking of being sorry, you’ll notice in the title of this posting we’re changing our hours to Tuesday to Sunday and closing on Mondays. Please accept my apologies to anyone who shows up expecting service on Mondays but I simply need a weekday to get administrative things done and I appreciate your understanding as we grow and change to meet your needs. Once my staff is strong enough I expect to be open at least for lunch on Monday and late night on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays but that may take some weeks or months because Jessica and Ilana are resuming their studies and it’ll take some time for the new people to get upto speed.
I confess I’m having difficulty getting my head around the speed at which things have accelerated this summer but I better because I expect the pace will not abate into the Fall and Winter. I promise I’ll never take my eye of the quality of the meat as we look to add new dishes to our card. As mentioned in an earlier post, Poutine should be ready within a week or two. Actually, I’m thinking of calling it “Jewtine” instead of poutine because I want to top it with onions fried in chicken fat – a traditional Jewish side dish. I’m also working on a knish recipe that incorporates my smoked meat and you’ll see new soups to go along with the borscht, matzoh ball and split you seem to enjoy. Last, many have asked me to serve great coffee with Wanda’s pies but my kitchen is so tiny that adding any new element threatens to burst an already tight ship much like that infamous iceberg. Ummm… that’s not funny. Forgive me: having delivered Lara to the airport this morning I’m feeling a little maudlin. This too shall pass.
The High Holidays will soon be upon us along with a chance for forgiveness and renewal. Thanks again to everyone who helped make our humble beginnings a success and our opening party a grand one.
