Category: Ronnie’s Blog

When I was growing up, I witnessed many historical events that shaped the world.

I saw Khrushchev’s shoe-banging stunt at the UN, and the assassinations of JFK, MLK, and RFK. I lived through the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Iraq War, and the war in Afghanistan.

Nowadays, I feel like I’m in a cowboy movie. Violence and chaos everywhere. Putin invading Ukraine. Polarization and conflict everywhere.

But in my little corner of kosher deli heaven, I find some peace and joy in what I do. I keep working hard as I approach my 75th birthday and hoping for a better future for everyone.

But enough about me and my thoughts (not that you could stop me anyway).

Let me tell you some exciting news about Ben’s in Manhattan. We have merged that location with Mr. Broadway, an OU Glatt Kosher Deli-Restaurant this past month. Right now, we are only open for delivery and pick up, but we will let you know when we are ready to welcome you in person. Ben’s is an equal partner in this new venture, which will give you another option when you visit the Big Apple.

And with that, I must go and prepare a catering tray!

See ya at the deli.

Simply,
Ronnie

Ben’s has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. When  our family moved to Long Island and my mother opened her bookstore a few doors down from the original Baldwin Harbor location, our family became instant regulars at Ben’s. Dine-in, take-out, and holidays were all Ben’s. If my mother wasn’t in the bookstore after school, she might have been sitting in Ben’s having a brisket sandwich or split pea soup served by Betty or Mike.

The workers and extended Dragoon family became the cast to the movie of my life, including characters that are still remembered by many of the long-time employees and customers. As a shopping center kid I was treated to VIP status. Manny & Tex let me come behind the counter & make my own frank with ketchup, very exciting to a 7-year-old! Sometimes I was sent over to ask for some change, and it was Dottie who taught me how to count the change back from a broken $20 bill. Of course, the young counter guys like the Judge were early crushes for me & my friends.

Cindy & Ronnie were the celebrities, always running around, engaged with customers, and building the company brand. My father talked books and history with Ronnie while he sliced away, never missing a beat. And Cindy, well, she was then and is still now the coolest! Over the years their generosity and loyal friendship has been unmatched. I am extremely lucky to have made a second family out of my employers.

I could never have known then that Ben’s and these fabulous people would play such a huge part in my life. From a 19-year-old cashier and hostess to floor supervisor, assistant manager, general manager, and catering director I worked and learned our best practices from my manager, Todd (now the COO), in 6 locations in New York & Florida. When I moved back north 5 years ago, Ronnie created a new role for me in several areas of the business to assist him directly. I am happy and grateful to have such a long career where I am so valued and appreciated.

Each week I visit the stores, and a few times a year I visit Boca Raton. Each time I am thrilled to see our regular customers, my coworkers and smell those delicious Ben’s  Foods. Maybe next time, I will see you there at the deli!

See you at the deli!

Rachel Stone
Ben’s Foundation Coordinator

Hmmm.
What shall I write about for the April Newsletter?

Shall I make a daring statement and then follow that up by saying it was an April Fool’s Joke?

Shall I say that I wish I could do even only a scant of what I could do ten years ago?

Shall I open with a larger than life, Breaking News story which I see on every news program? Isn’t the word news in and of itself breaking?

Shall I write about my experiences with some in the legal profession who are  actually modern day ambulance chasers? Now ask me how I truly feel.

Shall I write about patrons who abuse our hard working staff members?

Shall I write about how the pandemic almost put us and many other businesses out of business?

Shall I write about customers who actually stop ordering to answer their phones, and have a personal phone conversation while the counter person waits until they finish?

Shall I write about the landlords who worked with their tenants during the Pandemic and other landlords who cared less of the impact on our business and future? They know who they are …

Shall I write the immense appreciation I have for the members of the Ben’s Executive Team? And the many employees who strive to make happy customers?

Ah heck, I’ll take this opportunity to wish all our friends and patrons a very happy and sweet Passover and a Happy Easter; To  our employees a well deserved break from work.

As we do every year, we will be closed for the eight days of Passover so, hopefully, when the holidays are over, there will be a pent up demand for our house made corned beef, our double steamed pastrami, fresh cut French Fries, Matzoh Ball Soup … and all the other goodies that one expects from Ben’s Kosher Restaurant-Delicatessen and Caterers.

Thank you all and …

See you at the deli!
Simply,
Ronnie

As Ben’s just completed our 50^thAnniversary in business, I have to say that the customer’s responses have been heartwarming. Given the Pandemic, the turbulent world in which we now find ourselves, the supply chain shortages and the escalating cost of goods, I believe the worst is behind us; I am looking forward with a renewed sense of optimism on the future of Ben’s. Not that we went unscathed by the events of the past three years or so but we survived and I believe will be stronger as a result.

We continue to tweak our menu dispensing with those food items that are no longer in demand and introducing new menu items to our staff and patrons. Our supervising chef, Atilio Celis and his respective staffs along with my daughter Jaime Passy, COO Todd Silverstein and Vice President Gilah Salzano are looking and tasting various menu offerings to possibly incorporate onto our menus.

We are also testing bringing back dinner specials, on weekends, which we abandoned during the Pandemic while expanding our delivery services knowing that the market place has changed along with patrons dining habits and expectations.

Many years ago I remember a fellow named Bob Dylan who said the times they are a changin’. Well, they are still changing and evolving and  Ben’s will continue to change with the times to keep the great kosher deli tradition alive and well for many years into the future. Please March to a different drummer and come to Ben’s and celebrate with our St. Patrick’s specials that are available from March 1^stthrough St. Patrick’s day March 17^th. Thank you all. WE APPRECIATE YOU!

See you at the deli!
Ronnie

Some of you may be familiar with me as I have helped lots of our loyal customers with questions regarding our Ben’s Friends’ Rewards program. My name is Al Olle and I oversee all things marketing and loyalty.  I have been with Ben’s for 12 years; I started my path here as a server, shortly thereafter I became assistant to the president of Ben’s and eventually took over responsibility of Ben’s marketing. In the years since, I have revamped our website, created all our social media accounts, slowly but surely moved us away from traditional heavy print advertising which is what we mostly did and moved to more targeted digital solution. The idea is to reach our customers where they are,  be it a newspaper, email, social media or while browsing their favorite websites.

As if things weren’t already challenging in the restaurant space, Covid 19 happened, dine in was not an option for most of us and Ben’s was going to be in a tough spot, as we did not have a reliable online ordering system. Without one, our phones and cashiers would not have been able to handle the large volume of orders, so we got to work and swiftly launched Ben’s Order & Delivery, our own platform that’s integrated with our Ben’s Rewards Program.  I am happy to say that the timing was perfect, and we were able to keep you fed while allowing you to continue to earn points and redeeming your hard-earned rewards.

In retrospect, the impact covid had on the restaurant industry is incredible,  it changed the way you shop and the way we as restaurant folks look at hospitality. We have learned that we must leverage technology and evolve beyond the four walls of our stores.

So, what’s next? I would love to say drinks by the beach in Hawaii, but we are busy working on some new and exciting changes to our Ben’s Friends Rewards program to keep you better engaged and more informed about your accounts. We are also working on a simpler and cleaner look for our website which is something I will be working on with Ronnie’s daughter Jaime who has some really fresh ideas and our webmaster/graphic designer Debi who will help us put it all together nicely.

I couldn’t do what I do for Ben’s without the full support and trust of one of the funniest and hardest working people in the kosher deli game, Mr. Ronnie Dragoon.  His love for deli has fueled my passion for this job so I will continue to do my best for him and to help Keep The Kosher Deli Tradition Alive.

As Ronnie loves to say,
See you at the deli!

Ps. Don’t forget to order one of catering packages for the Superbowl, it looks to be an exciting game!

If the President of the United States can give a State of the Union speech, and the Governor of New York State can give a State of the State address, so, too, can I give the State of Ben’s in far fewer words than the President and/or the Governor.

So let’s get right to it:

Ben’s has experienced the unprecedented emergence of Covid (at least in my lifetime), and was able to navigate through all the vitriol and divisiveness in the country, and the rampant inflation that all of us have experienced as consumers and vendors. So after all this, where are we now and where are we headed in 2023? Ben’s through the years has had its share of ups and downs but never were we so threatened as we have been … but we emerged, and I think stronger than we have been in some time.

My goal has been to maintain the restaurant locations we now have and increase our sales by expanding our delivery areas as well as our offerings. We have an amazing amount of dedicated and caring workers who know the mission and the goal in the coming years of being the preeminent kosher caterer and restaurant in the United States. It is not an easy business and never was but as we overcame the high interest rates in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, the financial crisis in 2008, we, too, shall overcome all the issues I have raised. How do we do this?

We do this by having an evolving menu with more food options, maintaining the cleanliness and good looks of the respective Ben’s locations and seeking out superior management talent.

We look forward to 2023 with optimism and with the hope that our vendors, patrons, and employees face the future with the same optimism. And I must thank all the patrons who have written me, called the “hot line,” made suggestions, criticized or complimented on what they saw and experienced.

May you all have a resurgence of optimism, health and good fortune in 2023.

See you all at the Deli,
Ronnie

What an exciting and busy year it has been! Not only are we on our last leg of 2022 but we just completed yearlong 50^th anniversary celebrations. As a member of the Executive team and Vice President of Ben’s, it was both a privilege and honor to be a part of the planning and execution of many events and festivities orchestrated for this milestone.

Whether you took advantage of the specials we promoted each month, read one of the many articles written in our regional newspapers, participated in the 50% off your entire dining room check day, or joined us for our party, we were thrilled to celebrate with you.

And speaking of celebrating, it was our pleasure to help once again create new Thanksgiving memories, as you filled our dining rooms or arranged for delivery or picked-up catering orders, large and small.

As Hanukkah approaches, we look forward to continuing to serve all your dining room and catering needs.  Our Hannukah menu is available, so you can start placing your orders and take advantage of our delicious flavored mini latkes offer.  We carry plain potato, zucchini, spinach and my absolute favorite, sweet potato. These special flavors will be available beginning December 17^th and continue for the eight days of Hanukkah. Additionally, we are having a kids latkes demonstration on Sunday, December 11^th at 10:30.  Don’t forget we are open on Christmas Eve, Day and New Years Eve and Day as well!

I would be remiss, if I passed this season without giving thanks to the customers that patronize us, our management team, and all the rest of the hardworking employees that make all this possible. I promise you our gratitude is boundless as we know this business would not prevail and thrive without every one of you.

It is bittersweet as we say goodbye to an amazing 2022, but we welcome 2023 with open arms and many new and exciting plans to keep the tradition alive as we embrace our 51^st year in business. Stay tuned!

See ya at the deli,
Gilah Salzano
Vice President

My name is Todd Silverstein and I am the Chief Operating Officer of the Ben’s Restaurant Group. I have worked closely with Ronnie for over thirty years during which time he has been both a good friend and invaluable mentor.  I began this journey in the Walt Whitman Mall where Ronnie built a Ben’s Express Deli. My first Ben’s management position was in our Carle Place location in the fall of 1992. At that point, things changed for me as I now found my new career path. I have been the General Manager of the Ben’s in Greenvale, Woodbury, and now back to Greenvale where I was able to work with and interact with Ronnie on an almost daily basis. Over these thirty years, I have catered large corporate BBQ’s, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, birthday parties on and off premises, engagement parties, weddings as well as going to out of town synagogues from venues as far away as Arizona, Vermont, Washington, D.C., while our Boca Raton location takes care of the state of Florida going from south Florida to Jacksonville in northern Florida. What makes this truly amazing is that we are now catering events for the offspring of those who we catered their bris, bar and bat mitzvahs, engagements, and weddings so many years ago.

Fast forward now to 2022 where we are celebrating 50 years in business.

I am responsible for leading a great team of over 240 employees. My goals are simple. Continue to keep the tradition alive while adapting to this very changing world with all the challenges we now face. With the dining rooms seeing a nice uptick in business, we will once again have weekend dinner specials in addition to the weekday dinner specials, we now offer. Sometime in the early winter we hope to engineer a Meatless Monday menu. All Ben’s locations now have gluten free bread and our plant-based menus and vegetarian options will continue to expand and be refined. Our Supervising Chef Atilio Celis will be coming to your local Ben’s in the coming months. Lastly, Ronnie’s daughter, Jaime Passy, has become involved with Ben’s overseeing our social media working closely with our Marketing Manager, Mr. Al Olle.

We thank you for helping us to keep the tradition alive and as my good friend and mentor Ronnie would say…

Hope to see you all at the deli soon,

Todd Silverstein
Chief Operating Officer
Ben’s Restaurant Group

In over thirty years in writing for the hard copy Deli E Newsletter, and now the monthly On-line Newsletter, I’ve pretty much exhausted my interesting and funny stories, celebrations, and memories.  Nothing in college, nothing in the streets of New York City, and nothing in my prior life experiences could have  prepared me for the kosher deli business.

But I have now lived it for 50 years and survived … and thrived. And we are still listening to our patrons – new and old – so that we can innovate, and keep up with changing times and  habits.

In the coming months you will hear from Mr. Todd Silverstein, our Chief Operating Officer, as well as our Vice-President, Ms. Gilah Salzano. I am sure they will have some interesting insights and thoughts as to how we best position ourselves the balance of this decade and beyond.

In the meantime, I will resume writing, Confessions of a Kosher Deli Clerk, that began over twenty years ago with forty pages written and then stowed away for future resumption. It’s time for me to resume my excursion into creative writing. Until then, I will continue advising Todd and Gilah as they do the grunt work needed to sustain Ben’s.

Thank you  for your   loyalty and most importantly your friendships, that developed through the last 50 years.

On Tuesday, October 25th we will be celebrating our 50 year anniversary in every Ben’s by giving 50% off  on all dining room checks.  Come join us and enjoy the savings and celebration.

See ya at the deli,
Ronnie

Hi everyone. Jaime, Ronnie’s daughter, here. My dad asked if I’d be interested in writing the blog this month, so here I am. I am a teacher by trade and one thing I always encouraged my students to do was ask questions. Questions are powerful. They foster thinking and wonder. This gave me an idea. Let’s go back to the basics.  Since I came back to work at Ben’s last summer- after working there on and off throughout high school and college- I was inundated with questions from friends regarding certain foods, preparation, etc., so it made me think our customers were curious as well.

Let’s start with an anecdote about Howard Stern. Many years ago, when Howard Stern lived on Long Island, he frequented our Greenvale store. One day he asked his server the difference between a square and round knish in which his server replied, “Four corners!” Well, Howard Stern went on his radio show and rehashed this interaction for all to hear!! So, let’s uncover some of these Kosher mysteries. I asked a handful of customers and friends and here’s what I got…

What makes meat kosher?

“Um, the preparation.”

“The meat is blessed by a rabbi.”

“It’s the type of meat and the way it is prepared.”

“It’s the way it’s slaughtered, and the rabbi blesses it.”

The truth is:

For meat to be considered kosher, it must be slaughtered properly. This Jewish practice is called shechita. Jewish law also prohibits the consumption of any blood, so once the animal has been killed, the meat undergoes a special soaking and salting process to remove the blood. Kosher meat is from the forequarter of the animal, not the hindquarter. (No shellfish, no pork either!)

What is goulash?

“Rainboots.”

“Egg noodles and meat.”

“A jail in Russia.”

“A mix of vegetables that I won’t eat.”

“It’s beef and noodles with a brown sauce.”

The truth is:

Goulash is made with stew meat. It was an Eastern European peasant food since it was then a cheaper cut of meat that had to be cooked for longer periods of time to become tender.

What’s the difference between a square and round knish?

“A round knish has no corners.”

“The round tastes better (laughs).”

“The angles.”

“Hmm, maybe you would you get more with the square?”

“One is baked the other is fried.”

“Round is baked, square is fried.”

“One of them definitely has meat in it.”

“I think that is one is potato, and one is something else.”

The truth is:

The difference between the homemade round knishes and the Coney Island Squares is four corners. On a more serious note, the homemade round knishes are baked while the squares are fried.

What is gefilte fish?

“Disgusting (laughs) It’s a bottom feeder.

“Oh g-d I don’t know, I don’t eat fish. I have no idea, dead fish.”

“Fish that’s been through a grinder.”

“It’s sort of like a fish patty.”

“It’s pickled herring, isn’t it? Wait no, it’s the gold coins.” (spoken by a true Shiksa from out of state)

“Slimy fish, and you eat with horseradish sauce.”

“Smoked fish, mackerel.”

“It’s a silver fish.”

“It’s like a pickled fish.”

“A mixture of whitefish, halibut and chopped onions.”

The truth is:

Gefilte fish is made by removing bones from various white fish like carp, whitefish, mullet, and pike, grinding them up and then mixing with breadcrumbs and eggs. It’s essentially a fish burger or patty.

What’s the difference between sour and half sour pickles?

“One is olive green, and the other is regular green.”

“Hmm, sour has been fermented longer.”

“Ummm, one will make you make a funnier face than the other.”

“The color and all pickles should be half sour.”

“The amount of vinegar used.”
“The way they’re made, and they both start out as cucumbers.”

“The color and maybe the cucumbers you use?”

“One has more vinegar.”

“Something to do with the brine, but I’m not entirely sure.”

The truth is:

It takes up to six months to make Kirby cucumbers into sour pickles while half sours (or also referred to as new pickles) takes days/weeks.

So, there you have it. Some on point, some entertaining, and some responses completely off the grid. Whatever the response, it was fun to be a part of these conversations.

It has been a year since I came back to work with the amazing team at Ben’s and I’ve truly enjoyed my time here. My dad began the Ben’s journey 50 years ago and I intend on helping keep our family tradition alive by bringing new generations into our restaurants. So, as my dad always says, “See you (and your kids and grandkids) at the deli!”

Best,
Jaime Dragoon Passy
JPassy@bensdeli.net