Bethesda Deli Wars?
Fewer than four months after the opening of Bethesda's first Jewish deli, another is slated to open around the corner.
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In November, Uptown Deli, the first New York-style Jewish delicatessen in Bethesda, opened on Norfolk Avenue.
Coincidentally, fewer than four months later, another Jewish deli has sprouted up on the same block. Oy vey! Let the battle begin.
The new deli, Bubby’s, is slated to open at 11 a.m. Thursday at 4866 Cordell Ave. Both delis offer New York favorites like reubens, hot corned beef sandwiches, pastrami sandwiches and matzo soup.
“The best quality and best service will win out in the end,” said Howard Wasserman, manager of Uptown, the first deli to open.
Wasserman is no stranger to the manager of Bubby’s, Jeff “Louie” Manas, who managed Long Island Louie’s in Rockville for eight years. Wasserman, who was in wholesale foods at the time, would sell to Manas. Both have been in or around delis for the majority of their lives.
Wasserman, whose father worked in kosher meat, has seen a lot of repeat customers in the past few months. One Bethesda man comes in to Uptown every morning for French toast. Another customer says she has been coming in one or two times a week.
“I’m totally a fan of this place, but I’ll probably try [Bubby’s] out,” she said.
Tom Kraly of Bethesda and his son Nick stopped at Uptown for lunch.
“You still got the matzo soup?” asked Kraly, senior. “That sounds awesome.”
His son was surprised not to see the option for a sandwich on a bagel on the menu.
“That’s not really a tradition around here. That’s more of a New York thing,” said Kraly to his son, who lives in Manhattan.
“But it says real New York deli out front,” said Nick after his bread had been quickly substituted for a bagel.
Kraly plans on trying Bubby’s as well.
Wasserman, the self-proclaimed “Deli Maven,” said Bubby’s is taking off his success.
“He anointed himself ‘Deli Maven,’” said Manas with a laugh. “I have no thoughts on that really, none whatsoever. All I know is people know me as Louie.”
The word Bubby is Yiddish for grandmother. A Bronx native, Manas wants to have a “Bubby’s Wall,” where pictures of patrons’ grandmothers will be displayed.
“So after, you know, a few months, we’ll have 20, 30, 40 Bubbies up on the wall watching over us. I’m going to put my Bubby up there first,” said Manas, who added it wasn’t until he was a teenager that he found out his grandmother’s name wasn’t actually Bubby.
Manas echoed Wasserman's sentiment, agreeing that the best quality will win.
“[Uptown was] very good. The pastrami was nice and fatty and cooked well,” said Nick Kraly.
“Good for the heart, right?” asked his father.
“I think so.”
David Heyman
5:59 pm on Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Competition is almost always a good thing, but Uptown Deli is still establishing itself, and to have a 2nd deli less than a block away might not be good for either. Howard is running a good deli, Bubby's is going to have to find a niche for themselves.
Anh LyJordan
10:01 pm on Wednesday, February 16, 2011
As a transplanted NYC person, I am glad to see another option! I think there is enough business here for both of them! Count me in to do a side-by-side pastrami reuben comparison, matzoh ball soup-off, and a serious rugelach battle royale . I will consider it my civic duty! :-)
nancy
10:30 pm on Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Not crazy about Uptown Deli. They need work on customer service. I am excited for a bit of competition. I think Mr. Uptown may have rested on his own reputation if this new did not open.
So Good
11:29 am on Thursday, February 17, 2011
Hey all - I write the DC-based food blog So Good and (full disclosure) am also an investor in the new Bubby's restaurant. Wanted to add a few details for those curious.
In order to make sure everything was perfect and ready to go, we actually bumped our opening back to Friday at 11 am - hope some of you will come check us out on Friday.
As far as what makes Bubby's stand out, what drew me in to the venture is the terrific track record of our Executive Chef. Also, Bubby's is very much a full-service restaurant - we have a great open kitchen set-up, table service and a large dining room. Plus, we'll be offering a full dinner entree menu in addition to all the other traditional deli dishes on our menu.
PartyManiaMD
12:58 am on Friday, February 18, 2011
This should be interesting to watch.
Anything to bring more support to the Cordell Ave area of Bethesda is great in my opinion!
As long as both Deli's realize that we're all in the same boat together I think this is a recipe for success.
Good spirited competition keeps everyone's quality high and the community shopping local, which we all benefit from.
Rick
7:54 pm on Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Well, I have been waiting, wanting, needing a great Deli in my beloved Bethesda. I want one more reason to keep my dollars here instead of some wheres else! Bring on the Competition!
barbara
9:54 pm on Monday, May 16, 2011
Had brunch yesterday w/9 others for a friend's birthday, and we specifically went to Bubbies because the birthday boy's wife had read a positive review of Bubbies in Bethesda Magazine. I regret to say we were disappointed. The food was OK--from pastrami reubens to maztoh ball soup, it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either. But the most frustrating thing was the service! Yes, we were a large party, and they were short of staff, but it took almost an hour to get our food, and when most of it came, 2 people had to wait till we were almost all done before their orders came--no rhyme or reason. The b-day boy's wife, who'd organized the affair was frustrated and disappointed, and said that if only they'd apologized, it would've gone a long way towards our coming back again. Probably not, I'm sorry to say...