Ronnie's Blog | Ben's NY Kosher Deli | New York & Florida
November 2022 Ruminations & Ronnifications(11/4/2022)-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 … Continue reading "November 2022 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
October 2022 Ruminations & Ronnifications(10/3/2022)-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 … Continue reading "October 2022 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
August 2022 Ruminations & Ronnifications(8/2/2022)-As you may know, we are celebrating our 50th year in business, and our 40th year in Greenvale where we will be having a ribbon cutting ceremony in October of this year with our vendors, our key employees (although one could argue all of our employees are key and an integral part of our success over … Continue reading "August 2022 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
July 2022 Ruminations & Ronnifications(7/5/2022)-Once again, I’ve been given the monthly task of writing a blog for the E Deli Newsletter … so after about twenty years of writing this monthly piece, I was bereft of ideas. Then, suddenly, I realized that it is July 4th and what better topic than that of our founding fathers. Men (and women) … Continue reading "July 2022 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
June 2022 Ruminations & Ronnifications(6/6/2022)-Did we really get through this past winter? It felt like it would never end … Then two 90-degree days in a row. The transition from winter to spring is much like life. You never know what to expect or what will happen next. So, where do we stand? The cost of gas is through … Continue reading "June 2022 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
May 2022 Ruminations & Ronnifications(5/4/2022)-April showers bring May flowers. So how is this related to Ben’s? Well, we will be finished in May with our renovation of our Greenvale flagship location … so as the flowers bloom the newly renovated Ben’s will as well. It is a true labor of love as we emerge from the darkness of the … Continue reading "May 2022 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
April 2022 Ruminations & Ronnifications(4/5/2022)-The Year is 2022. The Ben’s Kosher Delicatessen Journey began in 1972. A half century ago and at the same time as: 5 White House operatives were arrested for burglarizing the offices of the Democratic National Committee at the start of the Watergate Scandal. The United States and Soviet Union signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. 11 Israel … Continue reading "April 2022 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
March 2022 Ruminations & Ronnifications(3/2/2022)-GUEST BLOG by Rabbi Paul Plotkin, Rav Hamachshir (Supervising Rabbi) of Ben’s Is it important for Ben’s to be kosher? Not really, if you have no sense of the Jewish community, but that has never been Ronnie’s way. Ronnie understood that the synagogue and the deli were two of the institutions that Jews came to, … Continue reading "March 2022 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
February 2022 Ruminations & Ronnifications(2/1/2022)-It is cold outside, the world is still reeling from the effects of Covid, and I am still trying with our executive team to navigate staffing shortages, inflation and supply chain issues. We are paying 30% to 40% more for meat, poultry, paper, plastic, aluminum, etc. The instability of the marketplace is witnessed as daily … Continue reading "February 2022 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
January 2022 Ruminations & Ronnifications(1/3/2022)-Wow! The year is 1972 when a young man decides that a kosher delicatessen is to be his calling. The year is 2022 when an older man, but one who is still young at heart, celebrates that kosher delicatessen’s Golden Anniversary. Where did the 50 years go? How did we survive and become one of … Continue reading "January 2022 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
November 2021 Ruminations & Ronnifications(10/27/2021)-Wow, it’s November already. I guess the cows are elated and rejoicing while the turkeys are seeing their futures come crashing down but no worry; we know at least one will be spared courtesy of a Presidential pardon. So what am I thinking about as we head towards the year 2022 which will be a … Continue reading "November 2021 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
October 2021 Ruminations & Ronnifications(10/4/2021)-After forty-nine years in the delicatessen-restaurant business, dealing with vendors, employees and the public, it is an understatement to say that I have been both educated and enlightened. I rarely share my innermost thoughts with the public, or really anyone except my wife, yet – as I get on in years – I find that … Continue reading "October 2021 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
September 2021 Ruminations & Ronnifications(9/2/2021)-I had an epiphany recently. After viewing workers on cell phones, talking and texting, I thought our generation was better than that but then, again, most generations think that the generation that followed was less than they were. The greatest generation was clearly those who preceded the Baby Boomers of which I am one. Now … Continue reading "September 2021 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
August 2021 Ruminations & Ronnifications(8/2/2021)-I am proud and excited to announce that my best daughter (my only daughter) Jaime has officially joined the Ben’s team. I always knew she had some restaurant blood coursing through her veins and have been waiting anxiously for her to decide when the time was right. I cannot think of a better time, than … Continue reading "August 2021 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
July 2021 Ruminations & Ronnifications(7/2/2021)-To my dearest oldest and youngest friends and customers, we at Ben’s, thank you for helping us to continue the tradition began in October 1972. What seems like yesterday is extraordinary since it was over 48 years ago that this all began. I was a young 24 years of age then and now I am … Continue reading "July 2021 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
June 2021 Ruminations & Ronnifications(6/1/2021)-So there I sat at a manager’s meeting in 2005, listening to one General Manager after another talk about online ordering. I kept thinking about what online ordering meant and if it would be a viable ordering system for our customers, especially our older patrons. I imagined they would say… what line? online where? where … Continue reading "June 2021 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
May 2021 Ruminations & Ronnifications(5/3/2021)-April showers bring May flowers. And more vaccinations. And Mother’s Day. After all these years of working, interacting with our customers and employees, I have learned one important lesson. I have never stopped learning; I will continue learning until the day I pass the Ben’s torch to those younger with much more vigor. I am … Continue reading "May 2021 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
April 2021 Ruminations & Ronnifications(4/7/2021)-Who would have thought that this pandemic would take more than 500,000 American lives? Who would have thought that we would need to quarantine and isolate, when those were words used to describe only those having smallpox or serving time in prison for some misdeed? Who would have thought that we had to think twice about … Continue reading "April 2021 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
March 2021 Ruminations & Ronnifications(3/1/2021)-Time Marches on. As I was contemplating what to write about this month, my daughter inspired me to write about 10 things people might not know about me. She shared it on her Instagram. I thought I’d share it with you. 1) I was a VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) in Richmond, Indiana (now part of Americorps) prior … Continue reading "March 2021 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
February 2021 Ruminations & Ronnifications(2/1/2021)-As we embark on a new year we have seen rioting at the Capitol, celebrated Martin Luther King Day and inaugurated a new president… During this month of February, let’s remember George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Regardless of what your political beliefs are, we can all agree that hate, bigotry, and anti-Semitism do not represent … Continue reading "February 2021 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
December 2020 Ruminations & Ronnifications(12/1/2020)-The year was 1988. The object of my affections: a beeper. For those who don’t remember, that’s how improved communications first started… the beeper, then a plain cell phone, then the fancy flip phones… and in 2017, I surrendered to those nudging me to upgrade. So a smart phone I purchased. And three years later … Continue reading "December 2020 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
November 2020 Ruminations & Ronnifications(11/1/2020)-I am sitting in my home office listening to Paul Robeson, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, the Weavers and realizing that many of our patrons do not know or remember these traveling troubadours of years gone by. I needed a diversion. I have been spending so much time working in my home office, I asked my … Continue reading "November 2020 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
September 2020 Ruminations & Ronnifications(9/1/2020)-I am imagining writing this blog in 1972 (an essay or missive back then) when this journey of mine first began. Richard Nixon was the President with the promise of ending the Vietnam War. Chaos reigned in his administration which ultimately ended in his resignation. I was struggling to pay the rent at that time; … Continue reading "September 2020 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
August 2020 Ruminations & Ronnifications(8/1/2020)-I’d like to take a survey of my customers as they enter the restaurant. Here are the questions: Since the shortage of toilet paper, and a lack of brand choices, is your tuchas (rear end) more sore, less sore, or about the same? What did you do when your natural roots began showing gray? Let … Continue reading "August 2020 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
July 2020 Ruminations & Ronnifications(7/1/2020)-Where have all the years gone? I began this journey as an idealistic twenty-four year old hoping to satisfy anyone and everyone. And at the beginning of this journey I did but I had this incessant need to grow the business and to build on the last accomplishment. An overwhelming need to prove myself caused … Continue reading "July 2020 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
To Ben’s Deli Patrons(6/9/2020)-The letter below was received on Saturday, June 6th from Woolbright Development demanding the premium rents of April, May and June in the amount of $86,688.51 which is close to $30,000 per month (no small amount) without warning or discussion. Is this how a 15 year plus tenant is treated who has never missed a … Continue reading "To Ben’s Deli Patrons"
June 2020 Ruminations & Ronnifications(6/1/2020)-It’s amazing how species develop, evolve and are able to change their behaviors. We have all learned to adapt through this pandemic; but we will be forever changed, in one way or another, for better or worse. As June approaches this will be the end of my second month in isolation. And although I am … Continue reading "June 2020 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
May 2020 Ruminations & Ronnifications(5/1/2020)-I am hoping: that the better part of the Corona virus is behind us so that we can begin anew; that most if not all of our employees will be back working sooner rather than later; that families enjoyed the best of each other if they were lucky enough to stay at home but if … Continue reading "May 2020 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
April 2020 Ruminations & Ronnifications(4/1/2020)-Here I am. In my home office. Answering customers questions, responding to Ben’s personnel, and issues that are specific to each Ben’s location. I worked up until March 20th until I had no choice but to listen to my adult children who implored me to stay home because I am in my 70’s with an underlying … Continue reading "April 2020 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
March 2020 Ruminations & Ronnifications(3/2/2020)-Thank you for your warm and overwhelming response to my February blog. Forty-seven years ago I couldn’t have imagined it was possible to receive such an outpouring of love and support. The admiration and kindness I’ve been receiving from new and longtime patrons, and vendors, as well as present and former employees of Ben’s has been heartwarming. It is gratifying to … Continue reading "March 2020 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
January 2020 Ruminations & Ronnifications(1/2/2020)-Is enough, enough? I keep hearing people saying, “It’s good enough.” Well, those words ring hollow to me. All my life- in both my personal and professional life – I have strived for excellence, knowing that I would invariably fall somewhat short. You see good enough was never good enough for me, but it seems … Continue reading "January 2020 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
November 2019 Ruminations & Ronnifications(10/15/2019)-This past day before Yom Kippur, I worked the deli counter in Ben’s of Greenvale. It gave me the greatest joy not to be on a computer, or the telephone, or listening to a myriad of issues. I was smiling, enjoying the back-and-forth banter with our patrons (many of whom didn’t know who I was), … Continue reading "November 2019 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
October 2019 Ruminations & Ronnifications(9/26/2019)-I don’t want to complain about aches and pains. I don’t want to complain about some of my landlords (who don’t know what it’s like to grind, especially in the restaurant business). I don’t want to complain about fewer and fewer vendors from which to choose because of bankruptcy or, more likely, mergers. I guess … Continue reading "October 2019 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
September 2019 Ruminations & Ronnifications(8/21/2019)-T.S. Eliot, the noted essayist and poet, measured his life in coffee spoons. I measure my life in how many High Holidays I am able to make it through…. still standing. The preparation is enormous– the chopping, dicing, mincing, slicing, and cutting. Orders will be taken, filled, packed and delivered (or picked up). It ain’t … Continue reading "September 2019 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
August 2019 Ruminations & Ronnifications(7/9/2019)-I am old enough to remember when we had bomb drills in elementary school where we hid under a desk (a lot of good that would do during a nuclear explosion, or shall we say a nuclear implosion). Russia, China and Cuba were our mortal enemies in the 1950s, with Russia having a nuclear arsenal. But … Continue reading "August 2019 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
July 2019 Ruminations & Ronnifications(6/14/2019)-Here I am, about seven miles in the air traveling to Memphis, Tennessee – a place I have not been to in over 47 years. My wife Cindy, and I are taking a river cruise on the mighty Mississippi from Memphis to New Orleans. I hope to see Graceland prior to the beginning of the … Continue reading "July 2019 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
June 2019 Ruminations & Ronnifications(5/15/2019)-I can still remember. April showers bring May flowers and so what does the Mayflower bring? Pilgrims! But not those immigrants, silly. Rather, our latest wave of immigration includes those from India, Pakistan, the Pacific Rim, Central America, etc. Unlike most African-Americans – who were forcibly brought to this country – the immigrants of yesteryear … Continue reading "June 2019 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
May 2019 Ruminations & Ronnifications(4/11/2019)-That time again. What am I to write? The idols of my youth? Willie Mays, Karl Marx, Norman Thomas “Who are they?” you may be asking if you’re under the age of 50? Contemporary political events? No, I am a Deli Man. So, about deli I will write. As Ben’s approaches its 47th year in … Continue reading "May 2019 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
April 2019 Ruminations & Ronnifications(3/25/2019)-I am on the horns of a dilemma. I am just hoping that that the horns don’t gore me! With restaurant margins being squeezed by minimum wage increases (not opposed to this, only opposed to the rapid rise which makes it difficult to absorb) with a concomitant raise for those above the minimum wage, labor … Continue reading "April 2019 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
March 2019 Ruminations & Ronnifications(3/25/2019)-Change is inevitable, but not always positive. As a business owner for 46 years, I have had to change with the times; some changes have been exciting while others have been disheartening. One of my recent and growing struggles has been on how to handle the negative impact of social media. Instead of complaining to … Continue reading "March 2019 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
February 2019 Ruminations & Ronnifications(2/6/2019)-Years ago, we began printing ‘Comment Cards’ for our patrons to evaluate the experience they had at whichever Ben’s location at which they chose to dine or take-out. It has been a very interesting experience to read these, especially for someone with my sense of humor and, with that in mind, I always made my … Continue reading "February 2019 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
January 2019 Ruminations & Ronnifications(12/26/2018)-As was written in an old Ben’s Deli Newsletter (and actually delivered by the U.S. Post Office) over twenty-three years ago: “United Parcel Service may deliver to more than fifty countries but Ben’s is not far behind. Our employees come from all over the world, countries in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle … Continue reading "January 2019 Ruminations & Ronnifications"
December 2018 Ruminations & Ronnifications (12/1/2018)-As we approach 2019, I am astounded by the changes taking place at breathtaking speed (or is it breakneck speed?) whether it is in the technological sphere, the brick and mortar industry, sports analytics, the food industry, or our personal behavior. I’ve been told by my wife that the toilet seat needs to be down … Continue reading "December 2018 Ruminations & Ronnifications "
November 2018 Ruminations & Ronnifications (11/1/2018)-What is the single most important quality and characteristic of a Kosher Deli Owner? In my 46 years on the job, many qualities come to mind, but I have determined that one cannot survive this business without having a sense of humor and the ability to laugh…at everything. Here are a few musings: Doctor calls … Continue reading "November 2018 Ruminations & Ronnifications "
