‘We’re opening in February,’ Lenny Rosenberg promised in late January, and true to his word, this coming Monday at 7 a.m., Lenny’s Deli of the Palisades will open for business on Swarthmore, in the former Pantry and Mort’s Deli location. ‘On Monday, we’re going to welcome the community by rolling back the prices to Mort’s pricing of the 1980s’50 percent off on everything all day,’ Rosenberg told the Palisadian-Post. The restaurant will be open for business Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on Sundays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. In addition to the regular menu, Lenny’s will also serve brunch on Saturdays and Sundays (from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.). Beyond offering half prices on opening day, Lenny’s will hand out coupons for 20-percent discounts for the next three months and free T-shirts and hats with the Lenny’s Deli logo. Rosenberg, who also owns the 17th Street Caf’ on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica, has broad deli and bakery experience, having run the Nosh in Beverly Hills for six years and a string of bakeries in his hometown of New York City.   While there have been few structural changes, Rosenberg says that the place will just look different and ‘feel different.’   ’We’ve taken out the wall in the middle of the store, redone the floor and put in a couple of new showcases. Now, when you walk in you’ll see all the deli cases, filled with white fish, lox, corned beef, pastrami, ham and roasted fresh turkey.’   Large menus hanging above the deli cases on red backgrounds will advertise meats, smoked fish, deli side salads, sliced cheeses, homemade soups, chili, entr’e salads and breakfast items. This will be helpful for take-out orders as well.   Beverages will include coffee drinks, smoothies, and a refrigerator for bottled drinks.   Rosenberg intends to have more small tables, which can be pushed together for large groups. Outdoor seating will be more comfortable with the addition of heaters. The interior d’cor is clean and deli looking with tile wainscoting and stainless-steel kitchen and prep areas. The large panorama of early Pacific Palisades remains on the north wall.   But, it’s the food that Rosenberg promises will be real Jewish deli fare. He has brought back Esperanza Calderon, who worked for 12 years for Mort and Bobbie Farberow. Besides her duties as the kitchen manager, she will also return as the ‘Jewish food cook,’ she says. ‘Mort used to call me the Jewish Salvadoran.’   As for the baked goods, Calderon is clear: ‘Lenny is the best baker.’   All the baked products will be made in-house (muffins, cakes, cinnamon rolls), except the bread, which will come from Mort’s favorite source: Bea’s Bakery in Reseda. ‘The rye bread will be double-baked and the bagels will be New York-style,’ Rosenberg adds.   Palisadians will recognize many of the employees, many of whom worked for Mort, some who worked for the Pantry.   Both Calderon and cook Eloy Jimenez, who worked for Mort’s for 12 years, will again be working together.   ’I am happy to be back,’ says Calderon, who worked at Fromins Deli in Encino after leaving Mort’s when it closed in 2007. ‘I have a lot of good memories, and we’re going to have our family back.’   Jimenez, who has been working at Houston’s since leaving Mort’s, is excited about the new menu items, especially the brunch fare’including Eggs Benedict and Norwegian Eggs Benedict (eggs, spinach, tomato and salmon on a Croissant).   Both were excited about the possibility of having Bobbie Farberow return in some capacity. ‘I am going to be the greeter for now,’ Rosenberg says, ‘but Bobbie will definitely help me out.’
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