Albert J. Langer, founder of Langer's Delicatessen-Restaurant, whose succulent hand-cut pastrami on hot rye bread, topped with Gulden's mustard, won praise as the finest hot pastrami sandwich in America -- or the world, depending on the critic -- died Sunday in Agoura from complications of old age. He was 94.
Langer's Delicatessen marked its 60th anniversary nearly two weeks ago with a celebration that included accolades for the deli's food and its survival. Long after the Jewish community moved on and other business owners packed up and left, driven away by the neighborhood's high crime rate, Langer kept his business open at 7th and Alvarado streets, adjacent to MacArthur Park.
The intersection will be named Langer's Square in his honor next year.
"This place never gave up on the community," Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine said to the crowd at the 60th anniversary celebration.
Langer's persistence paid off in 1993, when the Metro Red Line subway opened its westbound stop not far from his deli. The subway rescued Langer's Delicatessen, depositing long lines of hungry downtown workers to its door at lunchtime.
Such twists in the story of Langer's Delicatessen led Los Angeles Times staff writer David Shaw to describe the deli in a narrative tribute as "a living microcosm of the Los Angeles story, from dramatic post-war growth through all the triumphs and tribulations, changes and challenges that have followed...."
Langer was born Jan. 6, 1913, in Newark, N.J., to Russian immigrants. Because his birth certificate was not registered until Jan. 23, the later date was used as his official birthday.
Langer learned the deli business early. He earned the money needed to pay for his $35 bar mitzvah by working at a local delicatessen, thus learning a trade that would last him a lifetime. Langer plied his trade after graduating from high school, traveling to New York's Catskills in the summer and Miami Beach in the winter to work at delicatessens.
Langer moved to California in 1937 and eventually settled in Los Angeles. While working at a deli, he met and married Jean Grace Irma Stearn. The couple had two children.
After a stint in the Army and a few unsuccessful business endeavors, Langer took over a small 12-seat deli shop to open Langer's Delicatessen in 1947. Although the couple worked long hours, the deli soon became a gathering place in the Jewish community and an important stop for new residents.
