National Deli Month returns to communities across the country in August. Kravitz Delicatessen in Youngstown and Cleveland’s Davis Bakery & Deli are representing Ohio during the 8th annual observance which occurs Aug. 1-31.

National Deli Month celebrates the American heritage of Jewish delicatessens, and raises money for charitable organizations in their respective communities.        

Participating states include Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Texas. Delis are represented in Brookline, Cambridge, Chicago, Cleveland, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Newark, Phoenix, and Youngstown.

For locations, menus and charities, visit here.

Rose Kravitz and her husband, Herbert, opened Kravitz’s Delicatessen in 1939 to meet the specialty food needs of Youngstown’s Jewish community. The Mahoning Valley institution was recently sold by her son, Jack Kravitz, to the Rydar Group, LLC, owned by Matt Rydarowicz.

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“Kravitz started as a family business and will continue as a family business,” Rydarowicz said.

“Corned beef is my favorite deli meat, and it will be a pleasure to carry on the Kravitz tradition of corned beef, especially the Reubens,” Rydarowicz said. 

Rydarowicz has been involved in food service at Dairy Farmers of America. He has worked at Kravitz Delicatessen and area catering events for a number of years. He’s joined by his mother, Patricia Rydarowicz, who has operated Inspired Catering by Kravitz for the last decade. She’s chief operating officer at Kravitz. Additionally, Brianna Rydarowicz continues as the manager of Garden Café by Kravitz at Mill Creek MetroParks. 

Kravitz has chosen the Mahoning Valley Fatherhood Coalition as its preferred charity. Kravitz will donate $1 from every pound of deli meats, salads and Pastrami Northside Reubens or piled high fries sold to the organization. In addition, customers adding an individual donation will be entered into a drawing for a $50 deli/bakery gift certificate.

Rydarowicz said chose this charity because fatherhood changed his life. “I grew up without my father in my life every day, so when I found I was going to have a child I decided I was going to do things differently.” 

He said his five-year-old son Kameron is the inspiration for his success. “I made serious changes and tough choices with my son in mind. I hope that this fundraiser can help others make similar decisions leading to better family success.”

Roots of the observance – National Deli Month was created in 2016 by Ziggy Gruber, owner of Houston’s Kenny & Ziggy’s New York Delicatessen & Restaurant, and Jay Parker, owner of Ben’s Best Deli in Rego Park, N.Y. 

The 2014 documentary film “Deli Man” raised an alarm on how delicatessens – an integral part of every Jewish community in the first half of the 20th century – were rapidly disappearing. Since then, more have closed, including the Time Deli in San Jose, Calif., New York’s famed Carnegie Deli (which opened in 1937), Jack’s Deli in Philadelphia, and Lenny’s Deli on Baltimore’s Corned Beef Row. One month before National Deli Month began and more than 45 years after it opened, Ben’s Best Deli closed its doors.

The importance and challenges of this great cultural institution is the focus of a national exhibit,“I’ll Have What She’s Having: The Jewish Deli.” First opening in Los Angeles, in 2022, the exhibit opened in New York and is at the Holocaust Museum Houston until Aug. 13.

Kravitz’s Delicatessen

Kravitz Delicatessen, 3135 Belmont Ave., Youngstown 44505. 330-759-7889. Website: kravitzdeli.com….

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