Leo Steiner ( – December 31, 1987) was an American

restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspe ...

who was co-owner of the Carnegie Deli, located next to

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

at 55th Street and Seventh Avenue in the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. While his partner, Milton Parker, mostly worked behind the scenes, Steiner worked the crowd with his

Jewish humor The tradition of humor in Judaism dates back to the compilation of the Torah and the Midrash in the ancient Middle East, but the most famous form of Jewish humor consists of the more recent stream of verbal and frequently anecdotal humor of Ashke ...

in the restaurant, which became a destination for both celebrities and tourists in the theater district. Steiner was born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

. He worked in his parents' grocery store in nearby

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.delicatessen A delicatessen or deli is a grocery that sells a selection of fine, exotic, or foreign prepared foods. Delicatessens originated in Germany (contemporary spelling: ) during the 18th century and spread to the United States in the mid-19th centur ...

located at

Third Avenue Third Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, as well as in the center portion of the Bronx. Its southern end is at Astor Place and St. Mark's Place. It transitions into Cooper Square ...

and 23rd Street, he joined Milton Parker and Fred Klein in 1976, purchasing the Carnegie Deli from the trio of Bernie Gross, Max Hudas and Thomas North.Miller, Bryan
"Leo Steiner, 48, Owner of a Deli; Known for Wit"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', January 1, 1988. Accessed February 5, 2009. Klein, who had not been actively involved in running the business, dropped out shortly thereafter.Hevesi, Dennis
"Milton Parker, Carnegie Deli Partner, Dies at 90"
''

'', February 5, 2009. Accessed February 5, 2009. Under the management of Parker and Steiner, the deli became known nationwide, attracting celebrities such as

Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

Jackie Mason Jackie Mason (born Yacov Moshe Maza; ; June 9, 1928 – July 24, 2021) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. His 1986 one-man show ''The World According to Me!'' won a Special Tony Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award, an Ace Award, ...

and

Henny Youngman Henry "Henny" Youngman (March 16, 1906 – February 24, 1998) was an English-born American comedian and musician famous for his mastery of the "one-line joke, one-liner", his best known being "Take my wife... please". In a time when many ...

, and opened branch locations in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

Secaucus, New Jersey Secaucus ( ) is a Town (New Jersey), town in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 22,181, an increase of 5,917 (+36.4%) from the 2010 United St ...

and Tysons Corner, Virginia. Steiner became the public face of Jewish food, appearing in a television commercial for rye bread. He created a 60-pound ''Statue of Liverty'' carved from

chopped liver Chopped liver (, ''gehakte leber'') is a liver pâté popular in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine. This dish is a common menu item in kosher Jewish delicatessens in Britain, Canada, South Africa, Argentina and the United States. Preparation and servin ...

, complete with a torch fashioned from a turkey wing, for the

United States Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic. It was a central event in the memo ...

and was asked to prepare corned beef and pastrami for visiting heads of state attending the G7 economic summit meeting held in 1983 in

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It had a population of 15,425 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern par ...

. Portions of Woody Allen's 1984 film ''

Broadway Danny Rose ''Broadway Danny Rose'' is a 1984 American black-and-white comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen. It follows a hapless theatrical agent who, by helping a client, gets dragged into a love triangle involving the mob. The film stars Allen ...

'' were filmed at the restaurant. The deli's corned beef and pastrami, celebrated by smoked meat connoisseurs nationwide, were cured in the store's cellar using Steiner's own recipe in a two-week-long curing process. The Carnegie Deli used a half-ton of

brisket Brisket is a cut of meat from the breast or lower chest of beef or veal. The beef brisket is one of the nine beef primal cuts, though the definition of the cut differs internationally. The brisket muscles include the Pectoralis major, superficial ...

to prepare a week's supply of corned beef by the time of his death. Steiner admitted that "you could eat it after seven days, but if you wait until the 13th you're in heaven". A resident of

, Steiner died at age 48 on December 31, 1987, at

Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) is the academic medical center of Columbia University and the largest campus of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. The center's academic wing consists of Columbia's colleges and schools of Physician ...

due to complications of a

brain tumor A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the Human brain, brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign ...

and was buried at Gomel Chesed Cemetery in

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Corbett Monica, a comedian featured in scenes of ''Broadway Danny Rose'' filmed at the restaurant, lamented that "It's not the same kind of warm haimish feeling since Leo passed away." Mark Simone, a radio personality at

WNEW-FM WNEW-FM (102.7 FM broadcasting, FM, ''NEW 102.7'') is a hot adult contemporary-Radio format, formatted radio station, City of license, licensed to New York, New York and owned by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are located at the Audacy faci ...

reminisced that "The Carnegie used to be a party every afternoon, and the reason was Leo Steiner... You could go there any afternoon and sit with celebrities. Now it's just not happening. And a lot of those people are coming to the

Stage Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...

." Even Steiner's wife, who was then involved in a protracted battle with her husband's former partner over the valuation of the business, had abandoned the Carnegie, stating that "Since Leo died, I don't feel right about going to the Carnegie."Collins, Glenn
"7th Ave. Pastrami Feud Is a Test of Allegiances"
''

'', July 22, 1988. Accessed February 5, 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steiner, Leo 1939 births 1987 deaths Businesspeople from Manhattan Businesspeople from Elizabeth, New Jersey 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American businesspeople