Locals and tourists alike flock to Katz's every day, and lines out the door aren't unusual. Katz's walls are covered in tacky neon beer signs and photos of past and present celebrity diners. You can either order from the counter like a local, or you can opt for table service. You can even sit where Meg Ryan performed THAT famous scene in "When Harry Met Sally". Who didn't want what she was having?!
When the deli opened its doors in 1888, it was owned by the Iceland Brothers. Willy Katz and his cousin bought the business by 1910 and moved it across the road onto Houston Street, to make way for the new subway tunnel construction.
In its early days, Katz's catered mostly to European immigrants, and in the 1920s and 30s it also became a regular hangout for actors and audience members of the Yiddish theatre scene.
When the Katz sons were deployed overseas in WW2, the deli began sending them food supplies wherever they were stationed. "Send a salami to your boy in the Army" has been the store's slogan ever since.
The deli remained in the Katz family until the mid-1980s when long-time family friends came on board to manage the operations.
Each week, Katz's serves 10,000 pounds of pastrami; 5,000 pounds of corned beef; 2,000 pounds of salami, and 12,000 hotdogs.
And don't forget to slip the counter guy a couple of dollars when you place your order. He'll let you sample some of the pastrami while he's cutting it, and he'll give you the most tender pieces he has. This is the voice of experience (in stretchy pants) talking.
