Katz's Delicatessen Is Reopening A Forgotten Piece Of Its History — Here's A Look Inside

At a time when many beloved businesses are shuttering and important historic places are fading away, the New York City-based Katz's Delicatessen shines a light of joyous news. The famed deli is reopening a dining room to the public for the first time since 1949. Dubbed "The Ludlow Room," the 68-seat space has been thoughtfully restored after serving for decades as a walk-in refrigerator to help store the staggering amount of meat that Katz's takes pride in serving.

As the oldest deli in the U.S., Katz's is synonymous with pastrami sandwiches, Jewish deli fare, and the phrase, "I'll have what she's having." The joint started in 1888 on Ludlow Street before it moved in the 1920s across the way to Houston, where it stands to this day. The now restored Ludlow Room was previously open to the public from that time to its refrigerator conversion in the late 1940s. This expansion makes more room for folks to partake in the Katz's experience while exploring a space that fifth-generation owner Jake Dell calls "a living piece of New York history."

"Reopening this room feels like uncovering a forgotten chapter of our own story," Dell continued in a press release. "For decades, this space helped support the demand that made Katz's what it is today, but very few people ever got to see it. Bringing it back to life is a way of honoring the generations before us while creating something new for the generations still to come." Starting today, The Ludlow Room is once more open for dining.

Reopening the space is a major milestone for Katz's. With tiled floors, sconce lighting, and a tin ceiling, the design pays tribute to Katz's storied past. It also transitions The Ludlow Room functionally into the present and future, adding more space for deli aficionados. "I feel like maybe especially post-pandemic, we've seen, luckily and humblingly, an increase in the lines on an everyday basis," Dell noted. "And so, I do want to increase the seating capacity just to help alleviate it and figure out a way for New Yorkers to have better access and have a better experience."

With the new space, Katz's is offering The Ludlow Room as a rental for private get-togethers. "There's a little more flexibility there," Dell added. "And you don't have to rent out all of Katz's." As continual requests came in for renting the space, be it as a filming location or other events, Dell decided it was time for a change. "The thing that bothers me about those is that I have to turn away customers, people who made the trip down here, who made, maybe, you know, that's the one time a year they're in New York, and it's like this is part of their trip," the owner explained. "This gives me the ability to not do that."

Now that the space is open to the public, one can dine in and enjoy the painstakingly crafted pastrami available at the historic New York establishment. For more details about The Ludlow Room, visit the Katz's Deli website.