Ben's Deli owner Ronnie Dragoon to 'step back' from business

Longtime Ben's Deli owner Ronnie Dragoon says he will “step back” from the chain of kosher delicatessens that he founded in 1972.

“My body isn’t what it used to be. And I only know one way to work: hard,” said Dragoon, 71.

The decision has not been easy. “It’s hard to give up on what one has been doing for over 47 years, and doing it with love, passion, and dedication,” he wrote on his “Ruminations & Ronnifications” blog.

Dragoon echoed the lament of many restaurant owners, adding that “the restaurant business is getting more difficult to navigate, and the labor market is ever shrinking with less loyalty and caring.” He also noted the increasing costs of litigation, insurance and rent.

He has not decided yet what he will do with the seven-restaurant business, whether to transfer ownership to the existing management team or find an outside buyer. He hopes to resolve the future of the business within the next few months.

Dragoon and his father, Ben Dragoon, opened the first Ben's (now closed) in Baldwin in 1972. Ronnie was the driving force but, as he told Newsday in 1999, “What kind of a kosher deli would be named Ronnie’s? Ben's, Sam's, Harry’s, those are kosher-deli names."

The last decade has not been kind to the deli business, with Boomy’s in Plainview, Bellcrest in Bellmore, Commack Kosher Meats, Deli King in New Hyde Park, Deli on Rye in Albertson and Delsen’s in Bay Shore among the fallen. In 2014, Dragoon told Newsday, "Years ago, customers came in two and three times a week," in contrast to “today's norm” of once every two weeks. There's no question that diets change and tastes change."

In addition to his three local locations, Dragoon owns Ben’s Delis in Manhattan, Bayside, Scarsdale and Boca Raton, Florida. On Long Island: 140 Wheatley Plaza, Greenvale, 516-621-3340, 59 Old Country Rd., Carle Place, 516-742-3354, 7971 Jericho Tpke., Woodbury, 516-496-4236, bensdeli.net