How Much Corned Beef Do You Have To Sell To Make Rent?

First CBGB, now 2nd Ave. Deli may have to close because its monthly rent is being raised to figures higher than the average U.S. worker’s yearly earnings*:

The East Village restaurant that has long been a magnet for lovers of corned beef, pastrami, Hungarian goulash and chopped liver has suspended operations, admitted owner Jack Lebewohl.

But only temporarily, if he has anything to say about it.

“This more than breaks my heart,” said Lebewohl yesterday, as hungry passersby stopped to peer through the deli’s iron gate before walking away. “Hopefully, it won’t be final. I hope to reach an agreement with the owners.”

The kosher deli’s new landlord has increased the rent from $24,000 a month to $33,000, which is too thick a cut of the cash flow for Lebewohl to part with and still make a profit, he said.

. . .

More than 55 cooks, dishwashers and waiters have been laid off and forced to find new jobs.

Meanwhile, the Post writes glibly about the closing:

The deli, which has been clogging arteries at the corner of East 10th since the 1950s, was closed by owner Jack Lebewohl on Sunday after the building’s new landlord demanded a rent increase from $24,000 a month to $33,000 a month.

*$28,652, according to Bureau of Labor statistics current as of November 2005.