The eagerly awaited Radin’s Delicatessen is now open in Cherry Hill. An iconic Philadelphia area deli family comes home to New Jersey.
Radin’s Delicatessen is located along Evesham Rd in Cherry Hill, in the Short Hills Town Center.
It’s an all new interior construction effort, taking over a space which most recently was home to another deli… the Short Hills Deli. But everything about Radin’s is new… from the interior buildout and design, to the family ownership team.
That all being said, the name is not new as Radin’s was chosen for the name to pay homage to a legendary New York Deli family who operated multiple locations across New York City from the early 1900s to the 1970s.
Today, the new Cherry Hill Radin’s Delicatessen is owned by Russ Cowan, his wife Ilene and daughter Emily Mele, who have established their own status as icons in the deli business.
Russ is a fourth generation restaurateur, who worked in many restaurants around the country to develop his skills, particularly in the deli and bagel restaurant spaces.
While Russ and the family share many successes over their lifetime careers, one of the most well known was their almost 20 year ownership of the Famous 4th Street Deli in Philadelphia (which they just recently sold).
Under the ownership of the Cowan family, Famous 4th Street grew in popularity, respect and legend… being featured on the Food Network, the Rachel Ray Show and many publications, as well as gaining attention from celebrities at the local and national levels.
For the Cowan’s, while their prior deli homebase was in Philadelphia… the family has been living in South Jersey for 25 years! It seems that while retirement is not a word fully in Russ’ vocabulary just yet, owning a deli closer to their South Jersey home as the couple gets a little bit older seemed to make more sense for them. And in the case of Radin’s Delicatessen, it’s just minutes away from their front door.
Radin’s Deli – Cherry Hill
Radin’s Delicatessen just opened on Thursday, and I usually have flexibility with 42Freeway to avoid visiting newer restaurants on the busier weekends… but with a variety of personal time conflicts this week I found myself walking through the Cherry Hill Deli’s door today (Saturday) at 1:30pm.
And was greeted by a line of about 40 people waiting for a table!
Lucky for me I was by myself on this “work” visit and was able to be seated almost immediately at a small table set up for only one person.
The Radin’s Delicatessen interior is built into a long dining room space with windows running along the front long edge, and the deli kitchen along the back long edge.
When entering Radin’s Delicatessen there is an allocated space at the entrance for a foyer and waiting area. A small partition wall separates that area from the rest of the dining area
The decor of Radin’s Delicatessen is set in a mid-century 1940’s style deli, which is carried through in the overhead lighting fixtures, as well as in the table and seating options.
The front wall of the deli has plenty of glass windows letting in plenty of of natural light. That area features high-backed mid-century green padded booths. Table seating and chairs, while all new will take many of us back to visiting Grandmom at her house in the 1970s, drinking tea with her in her 30 year old kitchen.
Along the back is the kitchen area of Radin’s Delicatessen but they’ve created a perfect divider wall… glass displays highlighting the amazing baked goods, deli meats, and sides… all made by the Radin’s staff in the restaurant.
Radin’s Delicatessen – Lunch
For my solo lunch I went as traditional as you could when dining at a Jewish deli, and ordered a Corned Beef Special Sandwich, with Matzoh Ball Soup.
The price of this sandwich includes a side, and I chose the potato pancakes.
With a packed house and a line of people waiting, it really only took me a few minutes to place my order and receive my giant sandwich and soup
Being the Dad-Joke expert that I am, on seeing the massive sandwich being brought to my table I had to comment ”does it come in a large”… to which I was told “well, yes we actually do have a larger version!”
Yikes! Because I what I was looking at was a beast of a sandwich, one that I fully expected to tip the table over.. like when Fred Flinstone was served a giant meal at the drive-in and it tipped his car over!
Even in the “regular” size, my sandwich was multiple inches high and stacked with the most delicious and tender corned beef I may have ever eaten. The coleslaw was fresh and delicious also, with a little bit of crunchiness… and an awesome Russian dressing really put the “special” into my Corned Beef Special.
The bread was cut thick and I wondered for a minute how I was going to get this monster sandwich into my mouth… but I quickly found a way to make it work, and ate half of the sandwich during my lunch.
There’s a possibility that I could have eaten the entire Corned Beef Special had I not ordered the equally giant Matzoh Ball Soup, but I did end up bringing half of the sandwich home with me.
And likely this is a good time to mention that dining at a deli like Radin’s you are getting a high quality level of food where meats such as corned beef and pastrami are made by hand in the deli… and you are being served a LARGE portion. My sandwich which is the equivalent of two meals, and included the side of potato pancakes and a deli pickle.
The Motzah Ball Soup featured a delicious chicken broth with bowtie noodles, carrots and other vegetables… and of course a freshly made and delicious giant billiard-ball sized Matzoh Ball.
Somehow I was able to move through half of that sandwich and most of the Matzoh Ball soup, and then I quickly made my way home to take a long nap.
Links and Locations
Radin’s Delicatessen – Now Open
486 E. EVESHAM RD.
CHERRY HILL, NJ 08003
T: (856) 509-5492
TUESDAY – SUNDAY
9am – 9pm
