When new investors called Gerard Rudofsky about re-opening the pandemic-shuttered Zaidy’s Deli, he knew he had a chance to go home again.

It was a 35-year home he created in Cherry Creek North at 121 Adams St. where customers could get the Jewish comfort food they craved, More importantly they received the nourishment for the soul of having a place to gather with others in the community, family, friends and someone like Rudofsky.

“People sent some wonderful letters when we closed about what it had meant to their families,” said Rudofsky, 81. “Their kids were little babies when they started coming, now they’re 21 and forming those relationships.”

A “zaidy,” by the way, is the Yiddish word for grandfather. Though he wasn’t one when he started the original Zaidy’s in 1991, he is now. And has become one to many loyal customers, and staff grateful for his return.

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“It was a tradition in the community,” said Max Appel, who partnered with his son Joel Appel and Trompeau Bakery President Beth Ginsberg to re-open Zaidy’s at its new home at 600 S. Holly St. “Everyone has been coming in and saying ‘thank you for re-opening’.”

Longtime customers like Jack and Joan Whiting of Denver. Jack Whiting has been coming to Zaidy’s since it opened in Cherry Creek North, and he worked nearby at the Tattered Cover – which has since moved from that location. Joan Whiting grew to love the Sunday brunches.

“It was always such a great place, if you wanted to meet with two or three people over lunch,” said Jack Whiting, who sometimes ate there three or four times a week. “It has always been known for meeting with really good friends. And the Zaidy’s potatoes.”

“We just love Gerard,” Joan said, also noting her love for the baked apples and now-scratch-made bagels and lox. “The people are so warm here. It’s great and there’s just not another place that comes close to it.

“It’s the closest thing you can get to New York’s Katz’s Deli, on the lower East Side.”

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Ginsberg said she actually felt called to do something about the community losing Zaidy’s.

“When it closed, that really pulled at my heartstrings – that was a sad day when I read about it,” Ginsberg said. “That’s my food, my people, my community. It was a really big void left and it was something that was really in my wheelhouse, and I said this is probably something that I’m supposed to do.”

They brought back all the staples like chicken matzo ball soup, potato pancakes (krugel) and the Reuben sandwiches. But the recipes have been improved and modernized along the way, without loosing tradition. The Rueben’s rye bread is now scratch-made, in-house – as are the bagels and smoked salmon. All the baked goods like the blintzes and crepes are produced in-house, too, which she calls “a labor of love, but it really speaks to itself when you see the quality of food on the plates.”

“I been very amazed at the reception in the community,” Ginsberg said. “Certainly it has not been without significant effort. Training the employees, and we had to source the food from all around the state, and country. We bring over our corned beef and pastrami from L.A. But the community is really worth it. And they have welcomed us back.”

Other improvements have been the plentiful parking spaces on Holly Street. With the increased density in Cherry Creek North brought by new hotels, condominium towers, restaurants and offices – combined with the seemingly non-stop construction there – parking had become an issue at the old location, Rudofsky said.

How Zaidy’s was born

Rudofsky had built a successful travel agency with two locations in metro Denver. But he sold it in the mid 1980s. He and a business partner had a little restaurant on 14th Street, between Tremont and Court, and he had always wanted to grow it.

“I would come out on weekends and bake,” he said. “I love to do baking. I love to see things come out of the oven. My dad was a great baker, my mother and grandmother were great cooks. So, yeah, it just resonated with me. It just gives me an inner feeling, you know, and kind of got the juices flowing.

“I called it my mid-life correction.”

He found the location in Cherry Creek North and a Denver restaurant institution was born. He credits his daughter, who was 12-years-old at the time, for coming up with the name.

“She said those are the type of people who would come because of the meaning and what their zaidy meant to their families, and that family warmth,” Rudofsky said. “A lot of people like it here because of the meaning, and the feeling. I think that’s what Zaidy’s means as far as it’s home and maybe feels like that a little bit.”

His son Jason soon came on board and it truly became a family affair. Not only was it a lunch spot and deli, it became a gathering place for families’ life-events like bar and bat mitzvahs, memorial services and reunions.

“In fact, we have a memorial service here soon for my former babysitter,” he said. “Her kids are having her memorial service here.”

But the pandemic shutdowns and lost business finally brought it all to an end in October 2020. Rudofsky had plans to retire, but couldn’t help but feel Zaidy’s was taken from him – as opposed to him ending on his own terms.

Just months later, Appel called.

“Number one, I thought it would be a good business deal,” Appel said. “I knew two people and knew it would be a perfect combination with Beth and Joel.”

“When this came up, I saw the opportunity to keep the name of Zaidy’s going. A lot of places close and they’re forgotten. The thing that makes me most appreciative is that the name will be carried on long after I’m gone,” Rudofsky said.

They asked for him to help with consulting, and also to work at the restaurant, for at least three years.

“I’m 81 years old now and I’m punching a time clock,” he said.

His unofficial job title is “Head Schmoozer” – as he loves to greet customers and spend time chatting with them.

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So while retirement didn’t work out quite as planned, Rudofsky has been thankful to be back.

“I’m absolutely grateful for the opportunity that I’ve had to continue on,” he said. “I like to have something to do, and see people and engage with them. I need to be with people. These relationships we’ve formed with customers have been great – they’ve become like family.”

“It seems like for Gerard, this is what gives him happiness in life,” Ginsberg said. “Gerard is zaidy. And Zaidy’s is Gerard.”