Bayside Kosher Deli To Cater To Scarsdale During High Holidays

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — When a kosher restaurant and delicatessen chain closed its Scarsdale outpost two weeks before Rosh Hashana, the group’s Queens location picked up the slack — or rather, all of the brisket, kugel, and stuffed cabbage orders.

Ben's Kosher Delicatessen Restaurant & Caterers, a family-owned company with five locations in the New York area and one in Boca Raton, Florida, shuttered its Scarsdale store on Aug. 23, the Journal News reported.

Oscar Molina, Scarsdale’s manager, and some of the store’s staff, were quickly transferred to Bayside, and began fulfilling orders for customers in Queens and Westchester.

The deli’s usual slate of synagogue catering and shiva orders for two locations are now all coming into Queens — plus high holiday orders are around the corner — but the Bayside shop is ready to handle the influx of requests, Ben’s vice president Gilah Salzano told Patch.

“Everything is going to run as business as usual there will be no hiccups. I can promise you that,” Salzano said, pointing out that the Bayside location has its same chef, plus additional help by way of workers who were transferred from Scarsdale.

In fact, Salzano is confident that Molina — Ben’s of Bayside’s new manager — is going to improve the future of the store.

“There should be zero concerns with the business in Bayside, it's only going to get better because we have such a strong manager who's going to help that store grow,” she told Patch, noting that the Queens outpost has “had some issues” in the past, but none of which have put it in jeopardy of closing.

The only expected difference, Salzano said, is that meals will be made in Bayside and delivered to Scarsdale across the Throgs Neck Bridge, a relatively easy trip especially considering that the Queens location already has several vans for deliveries, unlike the Midtown Manhattan shop which does deliveries by foot, and public transportation.

These deliveries are currently planned with the holidays in mind, but Ben’s is considering expanding a delivery program to Scarsdale, possibly on a weekly or door-to-door basis, according to Salzano. “We don’t have a definitive plan yet,” she said.

As for Rosh Hashana, which begins on the evening of Sept. 6, and Yom Kippur, which begins on the evening of Sept. 15 and ends with a break-fast meal the following night, catering will continue as usual in Bayside, Salzano said.

Ben’s offers some delivery options in northeast Queens, Forest Hills, and Rego Park. Also, the deli will deliver orders of $100 or more across the borough.

Those larger orders of $100 or more can be placed in advance — as late as the day-of a holiday when it comes to packaged catering orders for families of six or ten people.

For smaller orders, however, people need to come to the Bayside shop in the Bay Terrace Shopping Center and wait in line.

“That’s no different than any other year,” Salzano said, noting that because of limited freezer and fridge space, Ben’s has always asked customers shopping for smaller amounts of food to come into the store and pick it up on the spot — including this year.

While Salzano was saddened to see the Scarsdale shop close, she says that Baysiders and people in Queens have the power to ensure that their Ben’s outposts stay open.

“So many people [in Scarsdale] are so disappointed that we closed the location, but when I look at their loyalty card and only see them using it once in three months I kind of want to say ‘well what did you expect,’” she said. “We can't survive unless people patronize and come out and support.”

Ben’s of Bayside is located at 211-37 26 Avenue in the Bay Terrace Mall. Learn more about the location — and see the catering menu — on the deli’s website here.