Famed Ben's Best Deli To Close After 73 Years In Rego Park

REGO PARK - The famed Ben's Best Delicatessen that's become a staple along Queens Boulevard will close this month after 73 years in Rego Park, its owner announced Thursday.

After decades of serving up fresh pastrami, corned beef and cold cuts, Jay Parker announced the eatery, which he bought from his father in 1984, would shutter on June 30 unless he can find someone to buy it, according to the Rego Park Forest Preservation Council.

"I had every desire to continue the business through other hands," Parker said.

Michael Perlman, chairman of the preservation council, said he offered Parker a preservation proposal as soon as he heart the news, and the deli owner was receptive.

"If you find an interested party, we can reconstitute the business," he told Perlman. "My staff would love to continue working here."

Parker could not immediately be reached for comment, but he announced the news himself on his deli's Facebook page.

"Regretfully, after seventy-three wonderful years, Ben's Best will be closing its doors on Saturday June 30th," the post read. "We are very grateful to everyone who has supported us and we hope to see you one last time."

Though Ben's Best has long been established as a Queens hotspot - and Parker somewhat of a local celebrity - the deli has also seen its share of the national spotlight. It appeared on Guy Fieri's hit Food Network television series "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" and was the backdrop for several scenes in "The Comedian," a comedy film released last years starring Robert De Niro, Danny DeVito and Leslie Mann.

Ben's Best also ironically appeared in "Deli Man" a documentary film chronicling the history of American diners and the challenges their owners face in an uncertain future.

Parker noted that in 1938, shortly before his father opened Ben's Best, there were about 1,500 kosher delis in New York City. Today, he can count 12 that still remain.

Perlman called the deli - which serves about 900 pounds of pastrami and nearly the same amount of corned beef per week - an "unofficial landmark."

"Time is of the essence to find an individual who will take over this historic business, which is known citywide and even nationally," he said. "This is one of the last mom & pop style delis citywide."

Parker did not immediately say what forced him to close the business, but the longtime deli owner has in the past been outspoken about the negative effects newly installed bike lanes have had on his and other businesses along Queens Boulevard.

He claimed in a January Q&A with the city's Department of Transportation that customers have struggled to find parking near his eatery since the bike lanes replaced nearly 200 spaces on along Queens Boulevard last fall and, as a result, his sales tanked by double digits.

In another community meeting on the bike lanes, he claimed longtime customers were being slapped with $95 tickets for parking where they'd always parked because they didn't know it was a bus lane.

"People come in, drive for 30 minutes and can't find parking, so they go somewhere else," he said. "If you come into my store and get a $95 ticket, you're not coming back."

Those interested in buying Ben's Best Delicatessen can contact Michael Perlman at unlockthevault@hotmail.com.

Lead image: Ben's Best Deli storefront at 96-40 Queens Blvd. Photo via Google Maps

Second image: Jay Parker, owner of Ben's Best Deli on Queens Boulevard, complains at a January Q&A with the DOT that business at his eatery has tanked since the bike lanes took over nearly 200 parking spots once used by paying customers. Photo by Danielle Woodward/Patch.