Midtown’s Kosher scene has seen a flurry of activity this week, as reported by the website Kosher-NY.  Eli’s Deli, in the Citigroup Building Food Court will close at the end of the week, the Mendy’s in the Rock Center concourse has officially moved to their new digs on street level (on 48th btw. 5+6th) and may have some Grand Opening specials, and Mr. Broadway (on B’way btw. 37+38th) was closed by the DOH on Tuesday. They hope to reopen tomorrow.  Also, in Downtown Lunch news… Little Lad’s (the vegetarian place Daniel reviewed this past Friday) will no longer be under Kosher supervision after this week.

Related:
Mendy’s Beats Out Soup Nazi in Battle of the Seinfeld Spin Offs

I hate silly franchises just as much as the next guy (Bubba Gump anybody?), but this one is kind of sad when you think about. The original “Soup Nazi”, who had an incredibly popular soup business in Hell’s Kitchen immortalized by Seinfeld, can’t seem to find success in Midtown with his “Original Soup Man” franchises. As branches have spread across the country, the Midtown locations seem all destined to close. The one on 48th btw. 5+6th is the latest to go, and will be replaced (ironically) by Mendy’s.

I’ve always wondered about the connection between Mendy’s, the Kosher deli with 6 locations in NYC, and the Mendy’s from Seinfeld- which was a fancy sit down restaurant. Not sure how long Mendy’s has been around, but they seem eager to confuse tourists into thinking it’s the same place. From their website: “You can also try our Famous Split Pea Soup, featured on ‘Seinfeld’.” Clearly having your soup featured on Seinfeld is not something you want to bank your business on…

No word on whether the Mendy’s in the Rock Center Concourse is moving to this location, or if they’ll just have two locations in the same building.
The Mendy’s that is currently down in the Rock Center Concourse will be moving into this space sometime in July or August.