Cambridge’s famed S&S Restaurant will close in June after 107 years in business. Yes, the knish-and-lox landmark outside Inman Square opened in 1919. I wrote about the closure for The Boston Globe, with current owner Gary Mitchell telling me that it was simply time to move on. The deli has been in his family for six generations.
“I understand people may love S&S. It’s time to make time for other restaurants, and other things are coming,” he said.
In honor of the closing, here are fun facts about the place.
The S&S name is a play on words. Nope, it doesn’t stand for “sandwiches and sauerkraut,” or “schmaltz and schnitzel.” Original owner Rebecca “Ma” Edelstein greeted customers with “es and es,” Yiddish for “eat and eat.” The name stuck.
The most popular early dish? Chicken…and baked macaroni. By the 1930s, the restaurant had built a following serving “roast chicken, chicken soup, chicken pot pie, chicken croquette, chicken salad sandwich and a la king,” owner Mitchell has said in interviews. The other big seller was baked macaroni. In fact, baked macaroni and cheese is still on the menu, for a modest $10.95.
Even the artwork has significance. The mural outside the deli, by acclaimed local Jewish artist Joshua Winer, depicts multiple generations of the Edelstein, Wheeler and Mitchell families. Hopefully, it stays in place even after the deli closes.
The Reuben is beloved. Who doesn’t relish a good Reuben? In an early 2000s-era review, The Boston Globe hailed its singular “lightly salted, juicy homemade corned beef; just enough buttery sauerkraut” and “thin, gooey layers of melted Swiss” on caraway-seeded marble rye. Today, it’s available in many iterations: classic corned beef or pastrami, haddock, vegetables, roast turkey or turkey pastrami.
Senator Ted Kennedy enjoyed the place. Even Irish people can appreciate a good Jewish deli, as evidenced by Kennedy’s visit in November 1994—the first stop on his campaign for senate reelection.
Sentiment about the closure is divided among neighborhood denizens. In Cambridge and foodie circles, some people have lamented the closing of one more nostalgic neighborhood business (RIP, East Coast Grill); others say the food is “meh” and the space is too large to feel bustling. But, as one bereft customer says: “S&S is closing; what’s the point of living? Another old-school venue bites the dust.” Change is hard!
But at least there’s another Jewish restaurant nearby. Lehrhaus, a half-mile away, offers Jewish tavern food, events and an innovative bar. Hey, they even have a beet pastrami Reuben.