‘It’s a point of pride’: Will this new Fort Lauderdale Jewish deli thrive in a cursed restaurant location?

The two men behind Goldberg’s Delicatessen and Bagels are so confident about their new Fort Lauderdale Jewish eatery, they didn’t even flinch when they realized their location might be cursed.

The bright, 4,800-square-foot space at 2701 E. Oakland Park Blvd. — where Goldberg’s debuted last weekend to strong crowds — is the same storefront where four restaurants have flopped in nine years: Santa Lucia Ristorante (2014-2016), Ruggero’s Ristorante (2016-2017), Elliot Wolf’s Brown Dog Eatery (2018-2020), Kraft Bistro & Deli (2021-2022). That’s fast even by South Florida standards, where hapless eateries are known to fail with ruthless frequency.

“It’s my business intuition to open there, and to prove a point that I can make it where someone failed,” Goldberg, 65, explains to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “It’s a point of pride.”

The first Florida outpost of Goldberg’s Famous Bagels, the new deli slings pastrami and corned-beef sandwiches, Carnegie Deli and Hebrew National meats by the pound, along with housemade knishes, breakfast platters and appetizing cases brimming with whitefish, smoked salmon and tuna salads.

Then there are the New York-style water bagels, which are kettle-boiled then baked, imparting a crusty outer texture and chewy inside. It’s the same bagel recipe that can be found at Grampa’s Cafe Bagels Bakery & Deli in Dania Beach, the landmark 66-year-old diner off North Federal Highway that Goldberg revived in 2021 with Big Apple restaurant vet Mark Fried.

The former Kraft Bistro & Deli space was turnkey, needing “light remodeling,” Goldberg says, so the transformation was swift. The new eatery, which has 115 seats inside and 40 more on the patio, has been equipped with new revolving bagel ovens, deli and bakery cases. Goldberg says he sourced those from partner Maltese, who operates a South Florida restaurant equipment supplier and also owns Stromboli Pizza in Plantation and Boca Raton.

The Original Goldberg’s Famous Bagels has 10 shops in New Jersey and the Hamptons. The third-generation bagel man has been hand-rolling dough since 1970, first out of his father’s Westwood, N.J., shop, and later at his first bakery, which opened in 1976. Maltese, meanwhile, is a second-generation deli guru who’s butchered meats since the early ’90s, first at his father’s bygone A&S Prime Meats and Deli in Sunrise, and later at his own restaurants.

“We’ve got a combined 90 years of deli experience,” says Maltese, 48. “Nobody can touch us right now. I’m being sincerely honest with you.”

Maltese says he and Goldberg bonded over a shared love of Jewish delis, an endangered species in South Florida these days compared with the dozens that once dotted the local landscape, like Wolfie Cohen’s Rascal House, The Pastrami Club, Pumpernik’s and others.

For Goldberg, it was important to have a deli to call his own in South Florida. While Grampa’s Cafe Bagels Bakery & Deli has a similar business model, its long reputation is tied to its name.

“Grampa’s will never be called Goldberg’s, and vice versa,” Goldberg says. “That’s my personality. I have to follow my gut and expand. And with Nick, we hit it off quick. He’s a younger, aggressive version of me.”

The all-day breakfast menu at the new Goldberg’s is vast and diner-like, with nine omelets ($12.99-$18.99) and Carnegie Deli blintzes ($10.99), French toast and pancakes (both $7.49-$11.49), bagel sandwiches ($11.99-$17.99, including home fries or hash browns) and avocado toast ($12.99).

Deli cuts of top-round roast beef, brisket, turkey breast, corned beef, pastrami and Hebrew National salami are sold by the pound ($29.99) and in sandwich form ($15.99-$18.99), where a half-pound of meat is served on fresh rye, multigrain bread, wrap or bagel and plated with a pickle and choice of housemade coleslaw, macaroni salad or potato salad. There are also Greek, Cobb and Caesar salads ($14.99-$16.99)

There are also kosher Jewish deli staples such as smoked salmon and whitefish salad ($18.99 per pound), potato, spinach and hot dog knishes ($5.99-$7.99), matzo ball soup with noodles ($7.99), and bakery treats such as rugelach ($7.99 for five pieces), rainbow ($7.99) and black-and-white cookies ($3.99).

Goldberg’s Delicatessen & Bagels is at 2701 E. Oakland Park Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. Go to GoldbergsBagelsFL.com or call 954-669-1000.