The exhibit launched Feb. 11, filling the restaurant, the night hosted by the current owner of Omnitsky, Richard Wood. The deli has seen only three owners in its long history: it was started in Winnipeg by Louis Omnitsky in 1910; bought some seven decades later by Eppy Rappaport, who brought it to Vancouver in the 1990s, running it here until 2023; and Wood.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Omnitsky has been in a few locations in Vancouver, including on Oak Street near 41st, where it took over the space of Kaplan\u2019s Deli, when that community institution closed in 2014.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Kaplan\u2019s was started by Ida and Abrasha Kaplan in the 1960s; Serge Haber ran it from 1981-2000, Marshall Kramer for a dozen-plus years and Howie English for its last year or so.<\/p>\n Kaplan\u2019s is one of the five delis featured in the exhibit, along with Omnitsky, which is now on Fraser Street between 18th and 19th avenues. The others are Oscar\u2019s (1943-1956), Rubin\u2019s (1955-1981) and Max\u2019s, which has been in operation since 1949 on Oak Street at 15th Avenue, with various owners over the years.<\/p>\n More than dates and names, the exhibit shares tidbits about each establishment, like where Ida Kaplan learned how to make her famous cinnamon buns, some of the many celebrities that visited Oscar\u2019s and how Rubin\u2019s was a late-night hotspot, open to as late as 3 a.m. in its heyday.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes I find myself browsing through the stories of our past, and certain items or documents just speak to me in a way that screams, \u2018Tell my story!\u2019\u201d Elana Wenner, director of programming at the Jewish Museum and Archives, told the Independent<\/i> about the how the deli exhibit came about.<\/p>\n \u201cIn this case, I was visiting Omnitsky\u2019s at their new location on Fraser Street, and I had just recently come across some photos in our archives of the old Kaplan\u2019s Deli on Oak Street…. As I browsed the shelves in the new Omnitsky\u2019s storefront, it occurred to me just how poignant it was to be living through this unique moment in Vancouver\u2019s Jewish history.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAs a Vancouver native and historian of local Jewish culture, the transitions of any local Jewish establishment always trigger a certain chord of interest for me,\u201d she explained. \u201cThe major move of Omnitsky\u2019s from Oak Street to Fraser Street was a transitional moment that would surely become a marker in the future telling of Vancouver\u2019s many chapters of Jewish culture and growth.\u201d<\/p>\n Wenner leads the museum\u2019s walking tours of the Strathcona neighbourhood.<\/p>\n \u201cI always conclude [them] with an \u2018epilogue\u2019 of where the community moved next, as there was a pretty abrupt collective move from Strathcona over to Fairview in the 1940s, and then a slow progression along Oak Street through to the new millennium,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The story is, of course, still being written.<\/p>\n \u201cAs young families continue to populate the areas east of Fraser, the residential centre of Jewish life in Vancouver is transitioning starkly eastward,\u201d said Wenner. \u201cSo, while Omnitsky\u2019s move from Oak to Fraser may have seemed like a shock to many of the old-timers … it makes a lot of sense in the grander scheme, in the way that the community seems to be moving now.\u201d<\/p>\n The 2018 edition of the museum\u2019s journal, The Scribe<\/i>, had the theme of Jewish restaurants. Most of the original content for the pop-up exhibit came from this publication, said Wenner, \u201call based on oral history interviews with the restaurateurs themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n The initial concept was to feature all the local Jewish-owned restaurants throughout Vancouver\u2019s 140-year history, but there were simply too many, she said. \u201cSo, the project shifted to become focused on just Jewish-owned delis.<\/p>\n \u201cAs I put the word out that we were looking for more information, I quickly discovered that there had been many more delis owned by Jewish families in Vancouver than I had ever expected,\u201d she said. \u201cWe chose the five featured in the current exhibit based on the extent of information available to us, both from existing archival materials, as well as new information collected from interviews with family members, descendants, and gleaned from secondary sources outside the museum.\u201d<\/p>\n The museum\u2019s archives include oral histories, copies of menus, newspaper articles and even some handwritten notes of sale and purchase lists, said Wenner.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Response to the exhibit has been positive.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the one hand, we wish we had complete stories for each and every single deli,\u201d said Wenner, \u201cbut it\u2019s actually really satisfying when people pop out of the woodwork and say, \u2018But wait! My grandparents owned this place!\u2019 and then they have all this new information for us to delve into about a deli that had previously not even been on our list.\u201d<\/p>\n As part of the exhibit, the museum asks visitors to share any information they may have on Pheasant Deli, Barer\u2019s Deli, Lindy Fine Foods, Triangle Caf\u00e9, Moishe\u2019s Deli and Leon\u2019s Kosher.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wanted to highlight the fact that we do know they existed, but the archives are only as good as the material we receive, and these are stories we haven\u2019t yet collected,\u201d said Wenner, who expects more pop-ups in the museum\u2019s future.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat makes this exhibit so interesting,\u201d noted Eli Klasner, executive director of the JMABC, \u201cis the collaboration with a business that is such an important part of our local Jewish history. The museum is committed to preserving Jewish history and retelling our stories in unique and interesting ways, including with entertaining pop-up exhibits in a range of locations and venues.\u201d<\/p>\n The T-shirts are proving to be a popular aspect of the current exhibit, which runs to April 1.<\/p>\n \u201cIn terms of the T-shirts \u2013 honestly, people are obsessed<\/i>,\u201d Wenner said. \u201cThere\u2019s been a lot of hype surrounding the deli exhibit in general, but the limited-edition T-shirts being sold alongside the display have garnered a lot of unexpected public attention. We keep receiving requests for more, and plan to release a new line of designs in the coming months to meet the demand.\u201d<\/p>\n Wenner urged readers to check out the new JMABC website, jewishmuseum.ca, where there is information about upcoming programs, including for Jewish Heritage Month in May, as well as many online exhibits.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOur summer 2026 season of walking tours is coming up soon,\u201d she said, noting that the tours sell out quickly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n![\"photo](\"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/mar-13-community-history.13.Deli-pic-CR-20260226_152825.jpg\")
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