Regal Deli in Plainview to remain open
Regal Deli in Plainview. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus
A ray of sunlight is shining directly on Regal Deli in Plainview. Three weeks ago, the 56-year-old kosher restaurant announced that it was closing, citing inflation and a labor shortage.
But news of the closure prompted such an outcry among loyalists that owner Sherri Banks reversed course. “There was just an outpouring of love and support,” she said. “Customers were coming in heartbroken and it was like a knife to my heart. I felt so bad that I was taking this special place away from the community that I couldn’t sleep.”
Heartbreak doesn’t insure a restaurant’s future, however, and two concrete pieces had to fall into place. First, Banks said the building’s landlord reduced the rent. Then, longtime employee William Diaz stepped forward with an offer to buy. Diaz had been working in Regal's kitchen for more than 30 years while his older brother, Santos Diaz, had been in the dining room, eventually running the business when Banks’ father, founder Steven Weiss, retired about six years ago.
At Regal Deli in Plainview, outgoing owner Sherri Banks and her successor, William Diaz. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus
The younger Diaz emigrated from El Salvador when he was 16 and "as soon as I came here, I joined my brother at Regal. It was my first job and the only place I have worked."
Thoroughly unfamiliar with kosher cooking upon his arrival, he now counts pastrami as his favorite menu item. "Pastrami with mustard and coleslaw, that's my sandwich."
Banks has promised to stay around for the near future to help William "get situated." But with the reduced rent and revitalized customer base, William says he is up to the challenge of keeping Regal alive for another generation. His son, Brian, is already working behind the counter.
Regal Deli is at 1110 Old Country Rd., Plainview, 516-938-3588.
