Leo Steiner

Who was Leo Steiner?

Leo Steiner was a Jewish American restaurateur who was co-owner of the Carnegie Deli, located next to Carnegie Hall at 55th Street and Seventh Avenue in the New York City borough of Manhattan. While his partner, Milton Parker, mostly worked behind the scenes, Steiner worked the crowd with his Jewish humor in the restaurant, which became a destination for both celebrities and tourists in the theater district.

Steiner was born in Newark, New Jersey. He worked in his parents' grocery store in nearby Elizabeth, New Jersey, where he grew up. The one-time owner of Pastrami & Things, a delicatessen located at Third Avenue and 23rd Street, he joined Milton Parker and Fred Klein in 1976, purchasing the Carnegie Deli from the trio of Bernie Gross, Max Hudas and Thomas North. Klein, whio had not been actively involved in running the business, dropped out shortly thereafter.

Under the management of Parker and Steiner, the deli became known nationwide, attracting celebrities such as Woody Allen, Jackie Mason and Henny Youngman, and opened branch locations in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Secaucus, New Jersey and Tysons Corner, Virginia.