Manny's Cafeteria & Delicatessen

What Manny's Cafeteria & Delicatessen does

Manny's Cafeteria & Delicatessen is a privately held, family-owned Jewish delicatessen operating from a single location at 1141 South Jefferson Street in Chicago's South Loop. Founded in 1942 and now in its fourth generation of Raskin family ownership, Manny's is described as the oldest cafeteria-style Jewish deli in the country and serves hand-carved sandwiches (notably corned beef and pastrami), fresh-baked bagels, homemade soups, and classic deli sides to a customer base spanning local residents, visitors, and historically U.S. presidents and Chicago mayors. The single physical restaurant is open Tuesday through Sunday and anchors an unusually diversified revenue model for an independent deli.

Beyond dine-in, Manny's operates eight distinct revenue streams: local online ordering for pickup, full-service catering with a 25-person minimum, nationwide shipping of signature products via the Tastes of Chicago marketplace, suburban delivery through DwellSocial, B2B wholesale supply to Chicago restaurants and caterers, branded merchandise produced by Sports Connection Gear, a standalone handmade cookie shop, and no-expiration gift cards processed through Clover. Private events are managed through Tripleseat software. Marketing relies on earned media (ABC7 Chicago, Chicago Tribune, HuffPost, My Jewish Learning) and organic social across Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, and TikTok, with email capture on the BentoBox-powered website.

The company is structured as a classic family-owned small business with no outside investment, no subsidiaries, no M&A activity, and no public financial disclosures. Headcount is reported at 51-100 employees, all concentrated around the Chicago location. Pricing is not publicly disclosed for menu items; documented pricing includes bottled beverages ($3.50-$4), tiered catering box lunches, deli trays, and continental packages with a 25-person minimum and a $1 per person paper goods surcharge, plus a 20% service charge for dine-in groups of 10 or more. The underlying technology is commodity restaurant commerce stack with no proprietary software, no AI capabilities, and no platform architecture beyond a single brand.

Name

Manny's Cafeteria & Delicatessen

Legal name

Manny's Cafeteria & Delicatessen

Website

https://mannysdeli.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1942

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Restaurant

NAICS

Limited-Service Restaurants (722513)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Delis & Sandwich Specialty Stores (CRAHAGAF)

Keywords

• Jewish delicatessen dining
• Sandwich and deli fare
• Catering and private events
• Branded deli merchandise
• Wholesale deli meats

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Dine-in service: Traditional cafeteria-style dining at the South Loop location, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner with full menu including signature sandwiches, soups, and deli classics. Service charge of 20% added to groups of 10 or more.
2. Online ordering (local): Direct online ordering for takeout and pickup, allowing customers to order ahead for convenient collection at the deli.
3. Nationwide shipping: Shipment of iconic menu items (corned beef, pastrami, brisket, bagels, soups) to customers across the U.S. via Tastes of Chicago marketplace partnership.
4. Catering: Full-service catering for office lunches, events, and private gatherings featuring hand-carved sandwiches, bagels, and deli sides. Minimum 25 people with 24-hour notice preferred.
5. Wholesale: Supplying wholesale deli meats, sandwiches, and fresh bagels to Chicago restaurants, cafes, and catering companies.
6. Merchandise sales: Sale of branded merchandise including t-shirts, hoodies, hats, beanies, tote bags, and mugs through Sports Connection Gear.
7. Cookie sales: Handmade signature cookies sold in small batches with custom inquiry options for events. Real butter, imported vanilla, never frozen, frosted with soft icing.
8. Suburban delivery (DwellSocial): Delivery of deli sandwiches, bagels, and catering favorites to suburban neighborhoods via DwellSocial partnership.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels9 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Manny's Cafeteria & Delicatessen operates a Chicago-based Jewish deli serving hand-carved sandwiches (corned beef, pastrami, brisket), freshly baked bagels, house-made soups, and classic deli sides through dine-in cafeteria service, online ordering, full-service catering, private events, nationwide shipping, wholesale distribution, and branded merchandise. It is a single-location, fourth-generation family-owned deli that has defined Chicago deli culture since 1942.

Product overview

Manny's Cafeteria & Delicatessen is a single-location Jewish delicatessen restaurant offering multiple customer-facing service channels: the core dine-in cafeteria experience (open Tuesday-Saturday 8am-7:30pm, Sunday 8am-3:30pm) featuring hot hand-carved sandwiches, bagels, and deli classics; local online ordering for pickup; full-service catering with deli trays, sandwich trays, and box lunches (minimum 25 people); nationwide shipping of signature products via Tastes of Chicago; private event hosting in their historic venue; a standalone cookie shop with handmade signature cookies; an official merch shop for branded merchandise; wholesale B2B distribution; and suburban delivery through DwellSocial partnership. The company operates as a unified restaurant brand rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Named customers2 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Tastes of ChicagocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTastes of Chicago serves as the exclusive nationwide shipping partner for Manny's Deli, enabling customers anywhere in the U.S. to order iconic items like corned beef sandwiches, pastrami, brisket, bagels, and soups for delivery coast to coast.
• DwellSocialcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDwellSocial provides suburban delivery services for Manny's Deli, allowing customers in suburban neighborhoods to order deli sandwiches, bagels, and catering favorites for pickup and delivery outside the city.
• Sports Connection GearminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerSports Connection Gear produces Manny's official merchandise including t-shirts, hoodies, hats, tote bags, and mugs. Items are shipped directly to customers through their storefront.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Sarge's Delicatessen: Family-owned New York Jewish deli and bar (since 1964) offering hand-carved sandwiches, soups, and catering. Comparable to Manny's in single-store family heritage and Jewish deli menu.
• Russ & Daughters: Fourth-generation New York Jewish appetizing shop specializing in smoked fish, bagels, and caviar with nationwide shipping. Comparable to Manny's through family ownership, Jewish heritage, and D2C mail-order extension.
• Langer's Delicatessen: Single-location Los Angeles Jewish deli famous for pastrami and classic sandwiches since 1947. Direct comparable to Manny's as a long-standing, single-store, family-rooted Jewish deli.
• Mile End Delicatessen: Montreal-born Jewish deli serving smoked meat, bagels, and sandwiches in a small multi-location format with nationwide shipping. Comparable to Manny's through Jewish deli heritage and mail-order business.
• 2nd Ave Deli: Family-owned New York Jewish deli known for hand-carved pastrami, matzo ball soup, and catering. Shares Manny's combination of dine-in service, kosher-style menu, and strong catering arm.
• Katz's Delicatessen: Iconic New York Jewish deli founded in 1888, serving hand-carved pastrami, corned beef, and deli classics in a single storefront with nationwide shipping. Most direct comparable to Manny's by category, heritage, and multi-channel model.
• Canter's Delicatessen: Historic Los Angeles Jewish deli (since 1931) serving deli classics, baked goods, and catering in a single location with overnight shipping. Closest West Coast comparable to Manny's in format and menu.

Regional players

• Portillo's: Chicago-based regional chain famous for Italian beef, hot dogs, and chocolate cake shake. Comparable to Manny's as a Chicago institution with strong tourism draw, but operates a multi-unit, broader-format menu at much larger scale.

Broad incumbents

• Potbelly Sandwich Shop: Chicago-origin national sandwich chain serving toasted sandwiches, cookies, and catering in hundreds of locations. Comparable to Manny's through Chicago heritage, sandwich-focused menu, cookie shop, and catering arm, but at vastly larger scale and broader menu.

Emerging players

• Eleven City Diner: Chicago Jewish-style delicatessen-diner serving traditional Jewish deli fare, breakfast, and catering in a single location. Closest Chicago-based sub-scale peer to Manny's.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mannysdeli
• Facebookfacebook.com/mannyschicago
• Instagraminstagram.com/mannysdeli/?hl=en
• TikToktiktok.com/@mannysdeli?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Manny's Cafeteria & Delicatessen