Why It's So Hard To Pinpoint The Oldest Deli In America

American delicatessens were born of immigration and have a storied history, particularly in their birthplace: New York City, where about 3,000 Jewish delis lined the streets by the 1930s. While that culinary presence is no longer as prevalent, it's still a major part of the community, and Katz's Delicatessen is one of the best places to get pastrami in NYC. It's also widely considered one of the best sandwich shops in America, but whether or not it's the oldest is a murky area.

According to Katz's website, it was established on Ludlow Street as Iceland Brothers in 1888, making it the first. After some partnership and ownership changes, it was eventually renamed Katz's Delicatessen in 1910 and moved to its current location on Houston Street in 1917 because of subway construction in the Lower East Side.

While the story of how the deli came to be seems accurate, some historians debate the date because it doesn't match up with records. In Daily Meal's own research of the 1888/89 New York City directory, the brothers who founded the deli — Morris Eisland and Hyman Iceland — weren't listed. The first occurrence we found of Hyman Iceland owning a delicatessen was in the 1907/08 New York City directory. With so many delis popping up in the late 1800s, even Ted Merwin, associate professor of Judaic studies and director of the Milton B. Asbell Center for Jewish Life at Dickinson College, admits in an NYU Press post, "We may never know which Jewish delicatessen was the first to open in New York. But Katz's [...] was certainly one of the pioneers."

Katz's Delicatessen makes some of New York's most famous deli sandwiches and was one of the restaurants that Anthony Bourdain loved, but delis weren't confined to New York City. As Jews started moving across the country, they opened restaurants wherever they landed. There's a Sprague's Delicatessen ad in an 1884 issue of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat newspaper, and the restaurant is documented as being the first to use the term "deli."

Sprague's closed in 1891, but many old and iconic delis are still open across the United States, and they aren't all Jewish. Daily Meal's research shows the oldest deli still operating in America is in Victoria, Texas. Fossati's Delicatessen, though not Jewish, opened in 1882 (even before Katz's claimed date of establishment) by Italian immigrant Fraschio "Frank" Napoleon Fossati. The same family still owns it, and it's listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The menu is more Texas-style than New York-style and is popular for its chicken salad and old-school classics, like Kite's Kalteraufschnitt.

Greater Los Angeles has its fair share of delis and is home to the second-largest Jewish population. However, the city's oldest deli is touted as Bay Cities Italian Deli & Bakery, which opened in 1925 and has been in its current location since the 1970s. It's famous for its Godmother sandwich, which features five different meats and provolone cheese. Chicago was another hotspot for immigration during the surge of delis, and Manny's Deli appears to be its oldest still in operation. Although it's not one of the oldest in America, having been established in 1945, this Jewish venue is known for its hot corned beef sandwiches and potato pancakes.