by Rick Oppenheim, CEO and Senior Counselor 

First, a little background. I’m a Jewish boy from Miami, who came to Tallahassee in 1972 to attend FSU. When I arrived, I had two questions: (1) What’s a grit? And (2) Why are the only bagels available made by Lender’s and in the freezer section at Publix? When I went home to visit my family, I would attack my favorite delis and bring back a couple dozen REAL bagels for my freezer – and assorted other delicacies that were foreign to most local residents.

Now, more than 40 years later, I don’t bring bagels back from South Florida anymore. You can get some pretty darn good ones fresh-boiled-and-baked at Tasty Pastry Bakery and Brooklyn Water Bagels (though, sadly, no longer at Bagelheads, which closed on March 29). But, there is still a major hole that remains unfilled in Tallahassee’s ethnic culinary spectrum. We sorely need a good Jewish deli.

Read more here: www.visittallahassee.com/blog.