A deli on steroids
Houston's best deli beefs up with massive new location
Houston's best deli will have a new home in 2021. Kenny & Ziggy's New York Delicatessen Restaurant announced it will be relocating from its current home at 2327 Post Oak Blvd. to the space currently occupied by Luby's at 1743 Post Oak Blvd.
The restaurant will relocate as the property it currently occupies at the corner of Westheimer and Post Oak has long term plans for redevelopment. Luby's, which announced in June it would begin selling its assets, opted not to renew its lease on its Galleria-area location. Kenny & Ziggy's will continue to operate in its current location until it is ready to move, which should take place in early to mid-2021.
For over 20 years, Kenny & Ziggy's has provided Houstonians with a classic Jewish deli experience. Known for staples like its pastrami sandwich, matzo ball soup, and smoked fish plates, chef-owner Ziggy Gruber starred in Deli Man, a 2015 documentary that examined the role delis play in Jewish American culture.
Moving approximately half a mile north on Post Oak will bring a number of improvements. For example, the larger space means the restaurant's private dining room will roughly double its capacity, and its main dining room will increase from 200 to 300 seats, plus counter seats and an outdoor patio.
Gruber addressed rumors about the move on this week's edition of CultureMap's "What's Eric Eating" podcast. He expressed considerable excitement about the new location.
"If everyone loves Kenny & Ziggy's, this is going to be Kenny & Ziggy's on steroids," Gruber says. "We're going to have a full bakery, a full delicatessen and appetizing counter. We're going to have a soda fountain and a full bar. It's going to be fantastic. It's going to be really neat."
That's right, for the first time, Gruber's restaurant will add cocktails to its wine and beer offerings. Whether a margarita pairs with a pastrami sandwich remains to be seen, but the potential for a boozy egg cream certainly sounds appealing.
In terms of design, expect a similar look and feel to the current location. Booths will run the length of the walls. Broadway playbills and celebrity caricatures, a nod to the Gruber family's Rialto Delicatessen on Broadway, will decorate the interior.
Moving will also allow Kenny & Ziggy's to expand its nationwide shipping through the Goldbelly delivery service and its catering operation. Currently, the restaurant operates an off-site commercial bakery that will also relocate to the new restaurant.