Deli loses flavor after losing its star
By MICHAEL J. TITTINGER Daily Press Staff Writer
NORTH OF WILSHIRE — Former car dealership owner Walter Parr liked to bring clients and associates to Izzy’s Deli — the self-dubbed “Deli of the Stars” — where he knew upon entering he could expect celebrity-like treatment.
There to greet him was Hy Katz, the legendary diner’s equally legendary general manager, a city staple of a man who was on a first-name basis with movie stars, judges, politicians and athletes alike. The pictures on the eatery’s walls are testament to his widespread notoriety.
Katz died on July 16 at the age of 85 from complications of pneumonia.
Parr would typically stop alongside his guests and wait for the “star” treatment.
“How many, Mr. Parr?” Katz would ask, raising up a hand to acknowledge the regular in a professional manner, before setting out to find them the best table available. Once seated, it was common for Katz to chat up Parr’s guests, that is, if Parr approved.
“He was just a great humanitarian. He always had the time of day for you, your guests, everyone,”said Parr on Wednesday, shaking his head in disbelief that he would never see Katz manning his post at the diner’s entryway again.
Katz worked two decades as general manager for the former Zucky’s Diner, another city landmark, before signing on with Izzy’s a quarter century ago.
Katz had become such a Santa Monica fixture, the founder of Izzy’s Deli said he has to inform people every day about his friend’s passing, as they enter the deli and inquire about the man who made every patron,not just celebrities,feel like a star.
“He was a celebrity in his own right,” said Izzy Freeman last week, sipping on iced tea in a mid-restaurant booth.“He understood that no matter how rich you are, no matter how famous you are, that everybody wants the maitre de to know you when you walk into a place.
“He knew how to make a difference.” Katz’s reputation preceded him at Izzy’s Deli, according to Freeman, who said his longtime general manager was someone he had coveted ever since founding the New York-style deli some 33 years ago. When Katz finally approached him about jumping ship from the competitor that was Zucky’s — formerly located at Fifth Street and Wilshire Boulevard — Freeman welcomed him with open arms.
Katz, who hailed from Patterson, NJ., had already established a following among both the celebrity crowd at Zucky’s, as well as the regulars who frequented both Wilshire diners, making the transition a seamless one.
Aside from his considerable skills as a people-person among customers,Katz went on to become a beloved co-worker, friend and member of the community in which he lived.
Following his son’s death in Vietnam, Katz established the Allen P. Katz Jewish War Veterans Post in his honor. The post, which continues to meet regularly, according to Freeman, raises money each year in efforts to provide a handful of Santa Monica High School students with scholarships.
Freeman said he backed a scholarship after his father, Morris Freeman, passed away, and gave the money in his father’s honor to a graduating senior. The deli founder said Katz’s commitment to the community may have contributed to his deteriorating health, as his manager continued to put off medical examinations until this year’s post commitments were in place.
“When he was sick and unable to work anymore, I told him I still wanted him to serve as ambassador, you know, to keep the mind muscle active,” said Freeman. “He could have just come in and sat with customers. I didn’t want him to sit at home alone.”
Katz’s wife Esther died close to a decade ago. Unfortunately for Freeman, he never got the chance to see his friend return to Izzy’s in the ambassador capacity, as Katz succumbed to a variety of ailments earlier this month. Freeman plans to close one day this month and hold a private reception in his friend’s honor, inviting celebrities famous and non-famous to gather and recall the maitre de who always knew their name.
At Izzy’s and elsewhere, Katz’s reach can still be felt. Juan Cuellar, now “the best waiter in Santa Monica,” according to Freeman, was just 16 when he met Katz while working as a busboy at the restaurant. Sitting at the counter, eating lunch while on break, Cuellar fondly recalled the man who took him under his wing and encouraged him to reach for the stars.
“I am very grateful for having met him,”said Cuellar,“just a nice, nice person.”
Cuellar, who was born in Mexico, could barely speak English when he met Katz more than a decade ago. He credits Katz with encouraging him to go to school and keep bettering himself. Today, Cuellar is married with two children, and according to Freeman, has to keep having his station expanded due to all the customers who ask for him by name.
“Hy used to joke that ‘if you speak in Spanish, I’ll pay you in pesos,’” said Freeman with a smile, alluding to Katz’s efforts to encourage the staff to learn English.
Parr first met Katz when he was a teenager, years before he would assume control, along with his brother, of the family car dealership, Claude Short Dodge. He remembers Katz always showed an interest in him, well before they became business associates, and eventually longtime friends.
“He just had a certain way about him from the start,” said Parr. “He went out of his way to make people happy, recognizing them and taking care of them.
“I will always miss him.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 2, 2006. Read the original PDF.