Stage to Stagecoach

After 75 years in celebrated business, the venerable Stage Delicatessen shuttered at the end of 2012, due in part to rising rent. While it was lousy with tourists, it was a landmark institution and many in the city mourned its loss.

What replaced the Stage? Reader Ken Jacowitz checked in to find the Stagecoach Tavern where the Stage Deli used to be.


photos by Ken Jacowitz

The Stage's name conjured the footlights of Broadway. The Stagecoach is named for--a lack of creativity? Or should we think of covered wagons carrying pioneers to their Manifest Destiny? Just please don't tell me it's "an homage" to the lost deli.

A sports bar stocked with several high-def television screens, the Stagecoach looks like all the other nouveau Irish pubs in town--same Celtic font on the sign, same beige interior, same menu. Where once were pastrami sandwiches, egg creams, and matzoh balls are now hot wings, sliders, and mozzarella sticks.

And on it goes.