H eadlines
Hymie’s Deli will ask customers to wear masks in the restaurant if COVID-19 cases in the area continue to
rise. Courtesy of Hymie’s Deli
The deli also recommended
mask-wearing but doesn’t
require it.

Schlesinger’s precautions do
not include a vaccine require-
ment and won’t unless the
Philadelphia Department of
Public Health says otherwise.

“We’re going to follow the
city’s direction and will comply
with everything the city
requests us to do,” Domb said.

A handful of Jewish-owned
restaurants in the area declined
comment on whether they
would require vaccination for
their patrons; the topic is polar-
izing and politicized. Though
the number of restaurants
with vaccination policies is
growing, they total fewer than
15 in Greater Philadelphia, as
of Aug. 10.

One of the Philadelphia
restaurants that implemented a
vaccine requirement, Martha,
which is not Jewish-owned,
recognized that. It hopes that,
by creating the policy, other
restaurants will have the confi-
dence to follow.

“We are not telling people
to get the vaccine; we are not
turning people away,” said
Olivia Caceres, Martha’s
general manager.

Instead, if a customer is not
vaccinated or does not present
proof of vaccination, the restau-
rant will seat them outside.

Martha wants to protect its
employees, who are not able
to qualify for unemployment
benefits if the restaurant shuts
down again.

“We’re trying to do what
we can to prevent another
shutdown by putting this
policy in place, which is small,
and it’s something we can only
do within our space,” Caceres
said. “But if other bars and
restaurants are doing that
as well, that makes a bigger
impact.” Like Caceres, Domb is also
worried about staffing, but for
other reasons; since the start of
the pandemic, he’s had several
employees leave and has been
short-staffed. The other month,
Domb was a server all day on
Sunday. Three weeks ago, the
deli closed for the day because
there were not enough staff.

Domb is concerned about
what the lasting impacts of the
pandemic will be on all restau-
rants in the Philadelphia area,
but also on businesses like his:
old-school, nostalgic delis.

“To many people, going
to a delicatessen brings back
tremendous memories of being
with their parents and their
grandparents,” Domb said.

“People love it.” l
srogelberg@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0741
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