The Nate 'n Al Delicatessen in Beverly Hills is about to be sold…maybe. And maybe it will close, maybe it will move or maybe it will stay right where it is and continue serving the same fine grub. It could even go Vegan and start making its pastrami out of tofu for all we know.
What we do know from this report over at Eater L.A. is that someone says one of the owners says they're in talks to sell. That's enough to put a lot of longtime locals into a bit of a panic.
The deli everyone refers to as just "Nate 'n Al's" is a fine place with many great memories for some of us. My parents loved eating there and whenever we went in, there was a long wait but your table, when you got it, usually had a great view of Milton Berle or Jack Benny or Jan Murray or Doris Day. For a decade or so, I never went there for a breakfast meeting without sitting near Doris Day. The waitresses were also stars. Some of them had been there so long, it made you wonder if deli food didn't promote longevity.
It's no longer as hard to get a table and the current show biz community hasn't embraced the place the way an earlier generation did. But it's still a great deli and I hope it remains what it is…and also where it is unless, of course, new owners want to move it to within walking distance of my home.