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Kaufman's Deli

Iconic/NotableSkokie (suburb) · Jewish Deli Community-sourced, unverified
📍 4905 Dempster St, Skokie, IL 60077

Survivor Maury Kaufman opened Kaufman's Deli in the 1960s as a gathering place for the Holocaust survivor community that settled heavily in Skokie; the Dworkin family (now run by Judith Dworkin) has owned it since 1984, carrying the original mission forward rather than converting it into a generic deli.

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Its original meat slicer, nicknamed "Baby Bertha," now sits on display at the Illinois Holocaust Museum -- a genuine artifact of the deli's own history, not a prop. Bagels are boiled before baking the old-fashioned way and are the top seller; the fish case runs smoked sable, sturgeon and whitefish (everything but the lox is smoked in-house), with two styles of whitefish salad -- Chicago (mayo and eggs) and New York (sour cream and onions).

The signature order is the New York Special: thinly sliced corned beef with chopped liver on rye, mustard on the side.

Specials at Kaufman's Deli

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Hours

Mon-Tue,Sun8AM-3PM
Wed-Sat8AM-5PM
📸 See more of Kaufman's Deli
🥡 Takeout unconfirmed 📞 (847) 677-6190

Amenities & accessibility

❔Takeout: unverified
❔Wheelchair access: unverified

Location

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