| Canter's Deli | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Canter's Deli at night | |
 | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1931 |
| Food type | Delicatessen |
| Street address | 419 North Fairfax Avenue |
| City | Los Angeles |
| State | California |
| Postal/ZIP Code | 90036 |
| Country | United States |
| Website | Official website |
Canter's Deli is aJewish-style delicatessen, opened in 1931 inBoyle Heights, and later moved to theFairfax District ofLos Angeles, California, near the border ofWest Hollywood. It has been frequented by many movie stars and celebrities.
The restaurant serves traditional food items, including:lox andbagels,corned beef,matzoh ball soup, andchallah bread. However, it is not certifiedkosher, being open on Saturdays and offering many non-kosher menu items like ham sandwiches.Canter's has remained open 24 hours most days, except on the Jewish holidays ofRosh Hashanah andYom Kippur. However, its dining room is only open until 11:30 PM.
In 2021, theFinancial Times ranked it as one of the "50 greatest food stores in the world."[1]
The Canter family originally opened a delicatessen inJersey City,New Jersey, in 1924. They came west along with manyJews from the northeastern United States,and in 1931 they opened a delicatessen onBrooklyn Avenue in theBoyle Heights neighborhood, which at that time had a substantial Jewish population. AfterWorld War II, the Jewish population of Boyle Heights left en masse for the Fairfax District, West Hollywood, and other West Side neighborhoods (as well as theSan Fernando Valley) and Canter's followed the influx of Jewish businesses west. A location at 439 NorthFairfax Avenue opened in 1948; in 1953, the restaurant moved up the block into the former Esquire Theater (which had previously shownYiddish-language films), resulting in a delicatessen much larger than its previous spaces. The restaurant was further expanded in 1959, and the Kibitz Room cocktail lounge opened in 1961. The Boyle Heights location remained in business until the 1970s.[2]
Canter's quickly became a hang-out for show business personalities, given its location a block north ofTelevision City and its 24/7 hours. It has remained such ever since. In the 1960s, Canter's became a late night hang-out forhippies,rock musicians, and othercountercultural types, partially for the same reasons. Also, manyrock musicians had grown up in Fairfax and West Hollywood, and theSunset Strip was only a half-mile (0.8 km) away. Canter's has remained a favorite of rock musicians to the present day, and its bakery and deli counter are still open 24 hours. Canter's is open every day except for the Jewish holidays ofRosh Hashanah andYom Kippur.
Canter's is known for its traditional deli favorites, such aspastrami,corned beef,matzah ball soup,challah, lox and bagels, and brisket. It also has a large menu of other breakfast, lunch, and dinner options and has been awarded for its food many times over the years. For example, Los Angeles Magazine named Canter's waffles the Best Waffle in Los Angeles.[3] Esquire magazine called theirMonte Cristo sandwich one of the best sandwiches in America.[4]
The bar in Canter's, called the Kibitz Room, has its own history and has been a favorite of music personalities.Chuck E. Weiss.[5] a regular at Canter's who has his name on a plaque at the booth where he would sit, wrote a song about the Kibitz Room called, "Rocking in the Kibitz Room."[6]Although the restaurant is open 24 hours, the Kibitz Room closes at 2 am. They have live music every night, and were the launch pad for several bands, most notablythe Wallflowers,Fiona Apple, andRick Rubin's new project, the Vacation. The Big Jam has had plenty of "A List" musicians sit in, includingPhil Everly,Jackson Browne,Melissa Etheridge, and Marc Canter's high school friendSlash.[7] Marc Canter, currently the restaurant's co-owner, published a book in 2007 about the early days ofGuns N' Roses.[8] In 2019, Gina Canter and Alex Canter released a book titledStories on Rye, cataloging a collection of memories shared at Canter's.[9]
Therestaurant has been featured in severalmovies andtelevision shows, includingHBO'sCurb Your Enthusiasm in the episode "The Blind Date" (2004) andAMC'sMad Men in the episode "Time Zones" (2014). In 2007,Adam Stein, finalist on the FOX TV showOn the Lot, filmed "Dough: The Musical" at Canter's. Canter's is also mentioned in the song, "Oh Daddy," byThe Turtles.
In 1993, the restaurant was featured inVisiting... withHuell Howser Episode 125.[10]
In 2003, Canter's opened an additional location insideTreasure Island Hotel and Casino inLas Vegas.[11] It closed in December 2012.[12]
On 14 October 2008, Canter's celebrated their 60th anniversary on Fairfax. To mark the occasion, the deli reduced the price of theircorned beef sandwich to its 1948 price of 60 cents, limited to one per customer, for a period of 12 hours.[13]
In 2008, Canter's had opened another deli outlet atDodger Stadium.[14] The operation at the baseball park closed in 2011 and was replaced by Dodgertown Deli.[15]
On July 24, 2014,President Barack Obama surprised the lunchtime diners and staff when he visited Canter's.[16]
On August 7, 2017, Canter's Restaurant was ordered closed for three days by the Los Angeles County Health Department for eleven health code violations, including a vermin infestation. Among other things, inspectors observed more than 10 cockroaches and 20 rodent droppings in the restaurant storage area, and 20 flies in the food preparation area. The additional health code violations cited that food contact surfaces were not clean and sanitized and the food was not in a safe, healthy condition.[17]
After returning to the Las Vegas market in September 2017,[18] the Canter'sTivoli Village location closed in July 2018.[19] Opening in October 2017,[20] the second Las Vegas location at theLinq Promenade closed in March, 2019.[21]
On May 30, 2020, at the start of theGeorge Floyd Protests, Canter's neighborhood was the site of one of the first intense confrontations between protestors and police in Los Angeles. Canter's posted messages in support ofBlack Lives Matter and stayed open during the protests, giving out food and water to demonstrators.[22]
On November 1, 2023, antisemitic graffiti was painted in the Canter's parking lot below a mural of photographs that document the history of the Jewish community in Los Angeles.[23][24]
Themural outside Canter's deli, next to the parking lot, was unveiled in 1985 and commemorates thehistory of the Jewish community in Los Angeles. It starts at the left end with historical images and progresses to the right in seven panels and includes scenes of Jewish participation in community life, institutions, businesses, significant cultural and historical events, as well as scenes from people's personal lives.[25]
34°04′44″N118°21′42″W / 34.0788°N 118.3616°W /34.0788; -118.3616
