The Kibitz Room has served Jewish-style deli fare in Cherry Hill for decades. Now, it finds itself in a pickle with New Jersey regulators over one word:
Jewish.
The state Division of Consumer Affairs is seeking a $1,000 civil penalty against the restaurant in the Shoppes at Holly Ravine on Springdale Road, alleging that its website and menu describe it as a Jewish deli and advertise a “Jewish cheesesteak” without a disclaimer that explicitly states its food is not represented as kosher.
The state is not accusing the Kibitz Room of passing off nonkosher food as kosher. The dispute centers on a consumer-protection rule requiring such notice when businesses use terms such as Jewish, Hebrew, or kosher-style to advertise food, even if they make no claim to being kosher.
“I think it’s totally ludicrous,” said Brandon Parish, who took over the restaurant earlier this year. “There is a distinction between being Jewish and being kosher. We claim to be a Jewish-style delicatessen. That doesn’t mean we’re kosher.” The proposed sanctions are a “schmear campaign,” Parish said, wryly.
But the regulation, N.J.A.C. 13:45A-21.7, specifically covers businesses that do not represent their food as kosher. It requires conspicuous disclaimers, with rules governing their size and placement on menus, signs, and advertisements.
The allegations stem from a Sept. 16 inspection by Division of Consumer Affairs investigator Aaron Leff, according to the citation, which Parish posted in full on the Kibitz Room’s Facebook page.
In a certification accompanying the Oct. 7 notice of violation, Leff cited the Kibitz Room’s website — which describes the restaurant as a “New York-style Jewish deli serving overstuffed sandwiches, hand-cut pastrami, and traditional favorites since 1996” — as well as its menu, including its Jewish cheesesteak, which contains brisket, coleslaw, Russian dressing, and pepper jack cheese.
Leff noted in the certification that attempts to resolve the issue during his visit and a phone call the next day were unsuccessful.
“I was told both times the menu will not change,” Leff wrote.
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Parish acknowledged the visit but said the restaurant was busy during a Jewish holiday and had asked Leff to return.
“We can’t do this right now,” Parish recalled telling him. “You have to come back.”
Parish now plans to post a notice on the door or window and add one to the menu stating, “We are not a kosher facility.” He intends to contest the penalty, with his attorney joining him for an Oct. 28 hearing by Zoom.
“It’s not about the fine,” he said. “It’s merely the principle.”
What other New Jersey delis do
There does not seem to be a uniform approach to the disclosure among other New Jersey delis. Goodman’s Deli in Berkeley Heights advertises “kosher-style” and “Jewish-style” food on its website, which also states, “Not Kosher.” Eppes Essen in Livingston calls itself “New Jersey’s Jewish deli” on its homepage, while its About page says it is not kosher-certified. Whether that disclosure satisfies the regulation is unclear.
Russ Cowan, owner of the nearby Radin’s Delicatessen in Cherry Hill, said New Jersey’s rule is misguided because describing a restaurant as Jewish or kosher-style does not mean it serves kosher food. Cowan said he has deliberately avoided calling Radin’s a Jewish deli or describing its food as kosher. His website mentions “Jewish delicatessens,” but only in recounting his family’s history of operating delis in New York. “I’ve been exposed to this my whole life. And Jewish does not mean kosher. Kosher-style does not mean kosher.”
The state has offered to settle the Kibitz Room case for $1,000. No finding of liability has been made, and a spokesperson did not immediately reply to a request for comment because of Monday’s holiday.
Parish said customers who keep kosher generally know the Kibitz Room is not for them. It’s open on Saturdays and serves shrimp, bacon, and Reubens combining meat and cheese.
“There are so many dead giveaways that somebody who keeps kosher would know, ‘Oh, I can’t go there,’” he said.
Inquirer Cherry Hill