After 40 years, Jack’s Deli and Restaurant in University Heights abruptly closed its doors on May 17.
A sign in the window with its hours of operation showed Sunday hours as 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The restaurant was typically closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
A sign on the front door read:
“After 40 years, the location that has housed Jack’s Deli needs a long overdue refresh.
“While the timing came completely unexpected and emergent due to repairs that are urgently needed in space, we believe the best way to honor the future of this legendary location is to reinvest and prepare it for its next chapter of hospitality.
“We want to sincerely thank everyone for all support following this sudden and unexpected pause in operations. Your memories, stories, and loyalty have meant more to us than you know and will hopefully be un-paused soon.
“Over the next 4-6 months, we will be hard at work refreshing the space and reimagining the experience, and we look forward to welcoming you back when the doors reopen.
“To our employees: you are family to us. We are actively reaching out to friends and partners throughout the industry to help connect our team members with opportunities as quickly as possible during this transition.
“Thank you again for 40 amazing years. We’ll see you soon.”
The restaurant at 14490 Cedar Road has undergone multiple owners in the last one-and-a-half years. Cleveland Restaurant Management Group purchased the restaurant from owners Alvie Markowitz and Gary Lebowitz in early 2025 and sold it to another group in January 2026.
Jack’s Deli was founded in 1980 by Jack Markowitz and his two sons, Alvie and Harry. The deli originally occupied the space at 2175 S. Green Road in the Cedar Green shopping plaza and then moved around the corner to its current location within the same shopping center.
Jack Markowitz grew up in then-Czechoslovakia, according to the Jack’s Deli website. Czechoslovakia dissolved at the end of 1992 and became two states – the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
In his childhood, Jack Markowitz learned about and experienced traditional deli foods, and, in opening Jack’s Deli, he aimed to share these experiences with the community, the website said. A Holocaust survivor, Markowitz spent four years at a displaced persons camp following his liberation from Auschwitz before coming to Cleveland, according to previous CJN reports. He was a founder of Green Road Synagogue in Beachwood who died in August 2002 at age 77.
Before his death and after his son, Harry, moved to California in 1982, Jack Markowitz ran the restaurant with the help of Alvie, the CJN previously reported. After his father’s death, Alvie Markowitz continued serving traditional dishes at the restaurant, with corned beef, potato pancakes, stuffed cabbage, brisket, tuna fish salad, blintzes and homemade soups being staples.
In January 1997, Jack’s Deli promoted Gary Lebowitz to partner, a role in which he was responsible for the daily operation of the restaurant and its catering business, the CJN previously reported. Prior to becoming a partner, Lebowitz worked as general manager at the restaurant for 10 years.
This is a developing story.