Jerry’s Stops Serving Jewish Deli Classics in Marina Del Rey (Again) After Four Decades

Marina del Rey’s historic Jerry’s, which had served Jewish deli staples to the Westside neighborhood for more than four decades, has closed once again. The news is yet another blow to Jerry’s owners and local fans, who have watched the business seesaw between opening and closing (and rebranding) in the same location over the past decade, while other Jerry’s locations across Los Angeles and the country close altogether.

Jerry’s closed for the first time back in 2017, with company CEO Guy Starkman telling Eater that the restaurant was no longer drawing in a steady enough crowd to remain sustainable. The space was flipped to the hip new restaurant called Stark’s by 2019, before reverting back to a hybrid restaurant called Jerry’s Patio Cafe & Bar in August of last year. Now that redone Jerry’s has closed, in no small part because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

A statement on the closure, sent to Eater, reads in part:

We endeavor to regroup and return to serve all of you, our loyal customers, again. Meanwhile, from all of us at Jerry’s and our affiliates, we thank you for your support over the past 42 years and look forward to sharing many more happy moments with you in the future.

The statement adds that the current Mitchell family that owns Jerry’s is actively seeking “a new location that is more feasible to operate in the environment of the pandemic and beyond,” though ultimately the neighborhood and timing of it all is still very much up in the air.

The loss of Jerry’s for Marina del Rey is just one part of a larger decimation happening to restaurants across Southern California overall, but also to Jewish delis in specific. Label’s Table recently closed in the Pico-Robertson area after 46 years, while Beverly Hills stalwart Nate ’n Al’s has closed, reopened, and closed again because of a COVID-19 outbreak — and still faces an uncertain future without a new permanent location announced for the 90210 zip code.

There is room for some optimism within the Jewish deli world, as pop-ups like the Bad Jew and takeout-only restaurants like Ugly Drum continue to serve across the city. Even Factor’s Famous Deli, the 72-year-old restaurant on Pico, is returning from a recent hiatus to reopen this Saturday.

• Jewish Deli Food Is Having a Moment in Los Angeles [ELA]