Jerry's Famous Deli, the 24-hour Miami Beach staple for lox and eggs is closed. A chain is around the door. Paper and garbage bags are taped to the windows. A peek through the window shows that the tables and chairs have been removed. What's going on?
According to the flyer taped to the front of the establishment, Jerry's Famous Deli is turning into a club in celebration of Memorial Day, complete with VIP section with bottle service, DJ A-Train, DJ Big Rob, and ladies drink specials. A reduced menu of "wings, fritters, and fries", is replacing the lox, bagels, and eggs for this weekend, according to a recent tweet.
The restaurant will be closed for normal meal service, opening from 10
p.m. to 6 a.m. for the parties. According to Twitter reports, the
restaurant had a "dress rehearsal" of sorts, complete with lights and barricades. A server at a neighboring restaurant said the music got louder as the evening progressed with bass so loud "the windows were shaking."
Short Order called Jerry's
Deli and spoke to Justin, who identified himself as the general
manager. He said that the restaurant was not turning into a pop-up
nightclub, despite the tweets and fliers posted on his doors. "We're just
making some adjustments to adapt to the weekend", he said. He did confirm a reduced menu and sporadic hours throughout the long weekend.
Update: A source at the City of Miami Beach confirmed that Jerry's Deli "did not open their business last night." We do not have details on whether Jerry's will open the rest of the weekend.
Additional reporting by Alex Rodriguez.
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