Sunshine’s Kosher Delicatessen

The format of this December 2025 Memoir will be slightly different from previous Memoirs in that it will center around a photo of a beloved commerical establishment that Paterson area residents fondly remember>>

Sunshine’s Kosher Delicatessen was a cultural landmark in Paterson for many years. It proudly sat on the corner of E. 33rd Street and Park Avenue. Its red exterior couldn’t be missed and no one would ever want to miss eating at Sunshine’s. It was one of the finest delicatessens in the area and just passing by in your car would make your mouth water. The corner is now occupied by a laundromat. We circulated a photo of Sunshine’s to a few of our JHSNJ members and received unprompted responses from all of them. Please keep reading . . .

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Going to the Jewish delicatessen has become part of our culture, a tradition that started when German Jews first migrated to our country in the mid to late 1800’s. Eastern Jews came later and ensured the fare would be kosher. The “delis” first emerged when merchants wanted to have storefronts to earn a living in the United States. Particular ethnic meats and dishes that were popular in the old country were for sale by weight. Then it morphed into having a few tables and chairs for people to be able to sit down and eat. Many years later kosher delicatessens such as Sunshine’s emerged wherever Jewish populations emerged. Most of us reading this Memoir either ate there or were aware of its very popular existence.

During the interwar years, 1920 to 1940, delicatessens reached their height but quieted down during WWII when meat was rationed. After the war when a flood of new immigrants came, the Kosher deli reemerged and came roaring back.

The word “delicatessen” means “delicacy”” and comes from the French word “délicatesse.” To most of us it was a gathering place of cultural connection over familiar Jewish foods. Perhaps Michael Greene explains it best when he describes what it was like for him to eat at Sunshine’s: “I remember it well. Great hot dogs with mustard and sauerkraut. Yum! But it was not only the hot dogs. Sunshine’s, along with other Jewish delis in the Paterson, Passaic, and Clifton area, provided other wonderful delicacies, including kosher bologna, salami, corned beef, pastrami, tongue, gribenes, chopped liver, and various varieties of smoked fish. To this day, the scent of a sour pickle or the thought of a hot pastrami sandwich on rye with spicy brown mustard brings me back to the days when Kosher delis flourished in the north Jersey area. While some are now just memories, the ones that remain still bring me back to a simpler and happier time.”

Some remember the Kosher deli as a tradition shared with friends as Anne Friedman Meyers does. She tells us this: “My friends & I spent countless hours hanging out at Eastside Park & we would walk down the street to Sunshine’s to eat. When we moved from the 10th Ave area, we moved to 31st St between Park & 15th Ave, just 2 blocks away ! Thanks for the memory.”

Others remember bonding with their mother and walking over a mile to get some of Sunshine’s pleasurable food. Jackie Kolin Pierce relays this: “I loved going there --- they had the best hot dogs and my mother and I could walk there together!”

Steven R. Cohen, Ph.D. had a different kind of experience. His father owned and operated the “famous” bagel store on Graham Avenue, Paterson: “I remember Sunshine’s very well along with Irv Friedman’s Deli. I sometimes helped with deliveries and carried bags of bagels into both delis’. Thanks for thinking of me.”

It’s likely that Roberta Rubin could smell the hot pastrami on a daily basis. “I lived directly across the street.”

Marcia Chapman tells us about a weekend custom she enjoyed: “I loved going to Sunshine's. Getting their corned beef on rye with the best mustard on a Sunday night was always special. Sometimes I think I had a delicious hotdog with sauerkraut too. Never too much for a chubby girl to eat. Couldn't beat a kosher hotdog!”

Someone remarked upon finding out that the space once occupied by Sunshine’s is now a laundromat, “a good use for that corner, not as tempting.”

Sunshine’s was not just an eatery but an entity that revealed its big heart. Rabbi Jonathan Panitz told us this story that involved his father, Rabbi David Panitz: “Wow! That was a favorite haunt of mine! So the stories my Dad shared about his contacts in Paterson could fill volumes. Probably most could not be published as a matter of confidence and confidentiality, but here is one that is worthy of note: Here’s another, “deeply engraved in my heart and soul” memory. When my Dad (z”l) died back in ‘91, on the eve of our 23rd wedding anniversary, after a long and debilitating bout with CLL, Sunshine Deli sent numerous donated trays of food to our home for the meal of consolation. Then the owners and even two of the ladies who worked there came to pay their respects. Truly, the epitome of empathic and compassionate presence. Honestly, I had not thought about this until I saw the iconic picture of Sunshine’s Deli in the recent post.

With all that has been written and said about Sunshine's no one has mentioned the long-serving waitress that graced the deli. She was quick, efficient and friendly and you could always depend on her to get the food orders straight. She had reddish hair and still had a trace of having had some teen acne. It seemed she was there so long that she had come with the place when it opened! Her name was "Pat." *

In closing, we feel we must give equal time to the bowl of matzo ball soup (with or without noodles), the hotdog we put loads of potato salad on, the bagel and lox, borscht, the dish of knishes, and on and on . . . The possibilities are endless.

Enjoy your next visit to a kosher deli! It’s all part of our Jewish charm.

*The owner of Sunshine's was Morris Gottlieb and his wife Sarah. Their son, Eddie, was also in the business. To the best of our knowledge other workers that toiled behind the counter were: Jerry Taub, Natie Rifkin & Hank Stein(eventually a partner). Harry Sunshine was partnered with Irv Buginsky in Wayne & sold out in the late ‘70’s

Dorothy Douma Greene, a former President of the JHSNJ