Monty’s Deli, the critically acclaimed Jewish restaurant known for its towering salt beef sandwiches and homemade chicken soup, are delighted to announce that their Crowdcube campaign is now live; they are now offering equity to those outside of friends and family and have raised £50,000 in the past three days.
A year after the success of its Kickstarter (which enabled them to open their first restaurant, in London’s Hoxton Street), they are looking to raise £150,000 through Crowdcube in order to roll out Monty’s sites in a number of new indoor food markets across London and the UK.
THE MONTY’S STORY
It all started with a sandwich. A sandwich made with pastrami smoked in Mark Ogus’s parents back garden. A sandwich that tasted of New York and nostalgia, one that went on to win accolades, but a sandwich, nonetheless. Within weeks of opening at Maltby Street market, Monty’s Deli was attracting queues of people who were Instagramming the lines as much as the meat. Within five years it had grown from a one-day-a-week stall to a business with two outlets and 22 staff.
In its first year since opening in Hoxton Street, Monty’s Deli has sold over 25,000 reuben sandwiches, and over 10,000 bagels, all baked on site. After travelling America, and having grown up eating the Jewish food so beloved of his grandpa, Monty, Mark had realised that London needed its own Katz’s, its own Canters. When Owen Barratt came on board, the two set about creating the Jewish deli of their dreams, reintroducing latkes, chrain, blintzes and the traditional Shabbat dinner to the city.
The idea was to give London something it had been lacking for a very long time; a real ‘kosher style’ Jewish deli, where the meats and the mustards, breads and pastries are all made on site. This place would hold all the secret recipes that make a great deli.
‘We call this “Jewish soul food” because, in essence, soul food is all about roots. Recipes with a history, made by hand by people who really care. It’s restorative, comforting food. And you feel part of a tradition when you’re eating it.’
Mark Ogus
Monty’s Deli restaurant opened at the end of April 2017, to great fanfare. In December their reuben sandwich was voted the second best dish in London by Time Out. In an ES Mag review, Grace Dent said, ‘Monty’s Deli in Hoxton is now firmly on the list of places I love.’ In the Sunday Times, Marina O’Loughlin called it, ‘A wonderful homage to the Jewish delis of New York: a Hoxton version of Katz’s.’ Jay Rayner, in the Observer, said it was ‘Excellent.’ And in his Financial Times review, Tim Hayward wrote that Monty’s Deli was, ‘clearly delighting a lot of contemporary locals… If the Jewish tradition has anything to do with a hospitable welcome, attention to detail and, ultimately, superb food, then they’re doing very well.’
When the opportunity arose to take a pitch in the new ‘Kitchens’ development at Old Spitalfields Market they jumped at the chance to be involved. As part of a group of operators hand picked by world renowned chef Nuno Mendes, they now trade there seven days a week, and following the Crowdcube fundraiser, hope to roll out similar sites across the UK.
“Our experience in markets is proven, and our love for the food we make is unrivalled. We have spent years perfecting recipes, and we now have a year under our belts as restaurateurs. The stage is set for us to roll out Monty’s Deli across London.”
Crowdcube campaign is now live and can be found here, we are aiming to raise £150,000 in a month
Montys-Deli.com
Twitter – @MontysDeli
Insta – @Montys_Deli
020 7729 5737
