Katz’s Deli has been hands down, the oldest surviving delicatessen in New York City – a proud honour in a space known to be a revolving door of whatever’s hot for the moment. Katz’s began as a small shop called Iceland Brothers, its original location being on Ludlow Street in the Lower East Side. This was way back in 1888. Willy Katz joined the business in 1903, which is when their first big rebrand took place – Iceland Brothers became Iceland & Katz. At the 7-year itch of this collaboration, the Katz family bought out the Iceland Brothers, which is when the sandwich deli’s most lasting identity – Katz’s Delicatessen – was born. As New York set the pace for the world, coming up with its own subway system, Katz’s Delicatessen moved to its current location on Houston Street, carving a permanent position in New York’s past, present and future.
