When we heard that Carnegie Deli was closing its doors after 70 years, we braced ourselves. We made plans to shell out for one last Woody Allen sandwich, overpriced though they are.

However, we might have acted too soon.

A former dishwasher at the deli, Samuel Mussovic, announced plans to buy the business from its owner, Marian Harper Levine, for $5 million and a share of profits.

To keep the deli running, he will be rounding up a group of investors and has already launched a "petition drive" and campaign to take over the restaurant's operations on October 3rd.

As reported by Curbed NY, unlike other NYC business tragedies, Levine's decision to close was not due to real estate hikes since she already owns the building, but due to basically, a bunch of sh*t going on in her own life.

In 2015 there was a gas leak that temporarily closed the deli, she was served with a lawsuit over missing wages owed to employees (not cool), and she has been occupied by nasty divorce proceedings with her now ex-husband.

[anad]

When announcing the decision to close, she mentioned that at this point in her life, she needs to take a step back from the restaurant industry, although she will continue to license the locations in Las Vegas and Pennsylvania, as well as expand the mail-order business.

mcdalti


Here's to hoping Mussovic can convince her that he can keep Carnegie Deli's NYC location alive.

[via Curbed NY] [Feature Image Courtesy Instagram] 

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