Katz’s Deli Ghost Signage Uncovered During Ben Shaoul Demolition

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Katz’s Deli is the proverbial last man standing on the block, but not for long.

For Ben Shaoul, more dominoes needed to fall before his new Hell Square development rises to its twelve-floor zenith. The two remaining single-story structures (the old Lobster Joint and Tim Horton’s) were dismantled this week after months of stop-and-go debris removal, presumably the result of ongoing legal issues with the Ludlow Rat Castle. Renderings illustrate the new development gobbling up these former restaurants, yet seemingly incorporating the bones.

And physical artifacts weren’t the only antiques discovered at the project site. The clearance work has, however, afforded a unique ghost advertisement for old Katz’s Deli. Much of the lettering is faded, but “Katz’s Fabric” is still legible. It’s missing the word “Wurst,” though, the same language that appears on its Ludlow frontage. This was likely the exterior of the restaurant decades before the now-demolished row of retail was built.

Wurst Fabric is the bastardized Americanization of the German/Yiddish meaning, “sausage factory.” In fact, a tipster tells us, “If it were actually German, “Fabric” would be spelled with a “k” at the end, so it’s an error which leads me to believe the sign was made by Yiddish speakers trying to imitate German but who didn’t know how to spell.”

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Oh, and that Equinox gym planned for the condo development? The door is actually located beside Katz’s: mouth-watering temptation or workout incentive?