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Emily Lichter, Alex Hanley and Ben Levin, co-owners of Lichter & Levin Delicatessen with Matt Wool, not shown, at the deli on the corner of Bridge and Market streets in Northampton. -
Lichter & Levin Delicatessen on the corner of Bridge and Market streets in Northampton. -
, Alex Hanley, Emily Lichter, and Ben Levin, co-owners of Lichter & Levin Delicatessen with Matt Wool, not shown, at the deli on the corner of Bridge and Market streets in Northampton. -
Emily Lichter, Alex Hanley and Ben Levin, co-owners of Lichter & Levin Delicatessen with Matt Wool, not shown, talk about the wall of photographs of family and historic Northampton at the deli on the corner of Bridge and Market streets in Northampton.
NORTHAMPTON — The opening of the Lichter & Levin Delicatessen is proof that, in Emily Lichter’s words, “sometimes the silliest ideas become your greatest.”
While many restaurants plan their marketing and branding strategies after an overall business plan has been established, for Lichter and Ben Levin, it was the opposite. The two have a background in the music industry, not food service, and met while co-managing the female folk trio I’m With Her. While on tour, they began talking about how there was no local Jewish deli in the area and started joking about opening their own, even going so far as to design their own logo for the imagined business.
“We had a logo made, we had some shirts made, and then we thought it would be fun to share it with our friends and our bands,” Levin said. “We posted about the logo, and then the town got very excited.”
A post made by the duo on Instagram in 2019 ended up going viral, with many residents clamoring for more details about when this supposed deli was to open in their city. Lichter and Levin then realized that their imaginary in-joke could very much become a reality.
“The town reacted so strongly from the post that it created this demand, which we started reacting to, like, should we actually open a deli?” Lichter said. “Because of the reaction, we started meeting with business owners around Northampton who were very excited to have us open the deli in their buildings.”
Though the COVID-19 pandemic ended up delaying those plans, an opportunity finally came four years later when Levin met Robyn Wynn, the owner of the former coffee shop The Roost on the corner of Bridge and Market streets in downtown Northampton. They met through their mutual acquaintance Matt Wool, who plays on a co-ed softball team called the Shluggers, and also met with Alex Hanley, a chef from New York City. Together, the group began planning on converting The Roost into the real-life incarnation of Lichter & Levin Delicatessen.
“We started making plans, and we turned this around very fast,” Levin said. “Our first tasting dinner was in December of last year, so almost seven months to the day, we’re opened.”
In addition to Lichter and Levin, Hanley and Wool are co-owners of the establishment, and Wynn will also serve as operations manager and continues to own the building.
Adorning the walls of the new interior are old photos of the owners’ ancestors, including a photo of Lichter’s grandfather, who owned a butcher shop in Brooklyn, and a photo of Levin’s mother as a young girl, attending his uncle’s bar mitzvah. Some of the photos are of Northampton, such as an old photo of the storefront with the first iteration of the Congregation B’Nai Israel synagogue in the background, and a picture of a shoe made by the first Jewish-owned business in the city.
“The idea of having all the photos there is really just to show why this place exists,” Levin said. “It’s the food we grew up on. It’s really that sort of nostalgic, longing for comfort that we couldn’t find anywhere else.”
The deli, which opened its doors for the first time Tuesday morning, features the standard Jewish deli fare, such as corned beef and pastrami sandwiches, matzo ball soup and knish. But the deli also offers vegan and gluten-free versions of certain foods, such as vegan lox and gluten-free bagels, along with original creations like the “Hebrew National Hot Dog” made with all-kosher beef.
The deli also serves Jewish desserts like Linzer tart (a pastry with filling and a lattice design), rugelach (a type of stuffed crescent roll) and babka (a sweet bread with a braided design). The deli also serves baseball-themed smoothies, such as “The Koufax,” “Yogi Berry” and “The Green Monster.”
“There’s something on this menu for everyone, no matter what your food preferences are,” Lichter said. “If you’re coming in here with people that are going to eat a pastrami sandwich and a knish, but you want a green smoothie, it’s there for you.”
Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.
