Rob Leshansky started working behind the counter at Max’s Appetizing Kosher Delicatessen when he was 13 years old.
Now the owner, he recently moved the business from Hewlett to Temple Tikvah in New Hyde Park. His renovations to the kitchen were interrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and he held its official opening on Friday.
Long having been a mainstay of the culinary scene on the South Shore, Leshansky said he will miss the rapport he had built with the community. Max’s had long ties to the area, having been in Leshansky’s family for three generations after opening in 1947.
He believes similar rapport can be built up in his new location, but it takes time. In the meantime, Leshansky is doing deliveries, free of charge, and some small in-person events.
Leshansky looks to instill a reputation of top-notch service and product quality. He said he does not understand how people can choose store-bought, mass-produced food. He said he puts people over profit, doing deliveries himself, even to far-away locations, if it means keeping a customer. He said he has one customer who lives in Atlantic Beach and the cost of driving and getting over the bridge may even cancel out the profit from the order, but he will still do it.
“It’s all about service and quality and pleasing people,” Leshansky said. “If a person comes to me to service an event, it’s a party for everybody. I have the best smoke in the world.”
Leshansky said he’s lost his kitchen staff since the coronavirus pandemic began. He now has one person come in part-time but he sometimes works 90 hours a week.
“I’m nearly a workaholic,” Leshansky said, adding that the hours have been taxing and he won’t be able to sustain that amount of work.
Leshansky has a vast knowledge of quality food products and the process of their making. Max’s started as a kosher deli but has since branched out into smoked fish and other products. He grew up in the Five Towns area.
Leshansky marveled at how things have changed in the food world in his lifetime. For one thing, the prices of fresh foods have skyrocketed. He said you used to be able to get a pound of sturgeon for under a dollar. Nova salmon was once a similar price, but now will go for around $49 per pound in some supermarkets.
There used to be many smokehouses around the state, but he said there are only two “regular” smokehouses left in New York. Food businesses cater more and more to the masses, he said, sacrificing flavor and quality, something he doesn’t tolerate in his diet.
“I ask people, how can they go to the supermarket and buy something and eat it when they don’t enjoy it?” Leshansky said. He attributed this to people not having an understanding of quality food and the process of making it.
Leshansky said once the pandemic ends he will stick with a mix of deliveries, takeout and live events. He plans to start doing business through Uber Eats and Doordash and wants to get a website running. Above all, he said he plans to continue going above and beyond with the quality of his food and courtesy of his service.
