In 2019 when Jeffrey Abraham, senior rabbi at Congregation B’nai Amooona and his wife Lauren first visited St. Louis, they were especially impressed by several local institutions.

“We saw Mirowitz Jewish Community School, then we went to B’nai Amoona, and Friday they took us to Kohn’s Deli,” said Lauren Abraham. “It was an awesome place, a restaurant and easy pick-up place that we did not have anything like in San Antonio, Texas. It was definitely a strong piece of the package of the St. Louis Jewish community when we were looking to move here.”

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Before it closed two weeks ago, Kohn’s Kosher Meat and Deli was the only free-standing full-service kosher grocery in St. Louis. A note released on Tuesday, July 9 by the Vaad Hoeir of St. Louis, which provides kosher certification, announced the closing and indicated that a reopening might be announced soon. The Jewish Light also reported on July 10 that a major kosher supplier in Chicago is suing Kohn’s for nearly $150,000 in unpaid bills.

Shelley Hoffman Dean, who worked as a cashier at Kohn’s for about a year and a half, thought the grocery and deli would reopen after closing for the long July 4th weekend.

“I was on vacation but had been told they were going to close for a week because we didn’t have enough product and that someone would be taking over operations and reopen,” said Dean, who often made lighthearted videos from Kohn’s as “Shelley from the Deli,” touting the business.

“This is a huge loss,” she said. “In some ways, Kohn’s was like a community center, where people could come and socialize, especially older people. Hopefully, the closing will motivate other (kosher) things to open. There is just so much potential.”

Since the closing announcement, many members of the Jewish community like Dean have expressed their hope that Kohn’s does reopen. The 63-year-old restaurant and grocery has held a special place in the hearts of St. Louisans who have fond memories of the original location in University City and the current location at 10405 Old Olive Street Road. The Jewish Light asked those Kohn’s regulars what the closing meant to them.

Larry Friedman (member of Bais Abraham): “Like anyone who grew up here, I was saddened to hear about the closing of Kohn’s. It was the last of the kosher delicatessens that were such an important part of the St. Louis Jewish world. I hope the closing will be temporary and that we do not lose this link to a beautiful tradition that was maintained for decades by the Kohn family.”

Cheryl Martin (member of Central Reform Congregation): “I remember when I was 8 or 9 years old in the 1960s and my grandma made knishes and potato salad for Kohn’s. They were still on Olive near Mount Olive right next to Jack and Jill Ice Cream. They were your typical old country business. My grandmother would walk down there and they’d all talk in Yiddish to each other.

Carl Greenberg (member of B’nai Amoona): “My reaction to the closing was that another example of the big fish eating the little fish. With competition from Costco selling kosher meat, it’s hard to compete, especially after they opened a store in U City. I’m not faulting them at all, but mom-and-pop businesses have stiff competition and unless they offer something unique that people will pay a premium price for, they will lose the battle for customers.”

Donna Epstein: “It is not a complete surprise as all the other kosher markets had been disappearing from the St. Louis area for years. It is hard to believe that the St. Louis market could not sustain just one kosher market. Perhaps people had started buying what they need online and getting better prices or not having time for the drive. Hopefully in the near future, another market will come along to take its place or someone will reopen Kohn’s.

Larry Pevnick: “I was saddened as this was the last bastion of real kosher food in the St. Louis area. I remember the great knishes and corned beef sandwiches and going there with my Orthodox friends. This place will be sorely missed by a lot of Jewish people of all ages.”

Idena Freedman (program assistant at B’nai Amoona): “I could not feel more heartbroken. Kohn’s was a pillar of the Jewish community which catered to a plethora of clientele. Lack of access to a Glatt Kosher butcher and deli counter is a tremendous void which needs to be filled. Over the course of my 10+ years living in St. Louis, my family and I developed close relationships with so many of the wonderful and dedicated employees who felt like family.”

Larry Sekuler (who now lives in Mountain View, Calif.): “My grandpa and Simon Kohn were the best of friends. I remember that when my grandpa died of cancer in 1978, I was standing right next to Simon Kohn at the funeral at United Hebrew Cemetery. Simon Kohn had lost his best friend, and he was inconsolable. I also remember that we used to go every day to the J in the summer. My mom would take us out to go swimming and on our way back we’d go to Kohn’s and get chopped liver to take home. They had the best chopped liver—with the possible exception of my bubbe.”

Jewish Light Editor-In-Chief Ellen Futterman contributed to this story.