Gabriel Letzer, 22, left, serves up an “ultimate sandwich”— piled high with turkey, pastrami and Swiss cheese —made by his father, Sheridan, 61, co-owner of Letzer's Deli on Southwest Division Street in Bend.

For Sheridan Letzer, 61, memories of his first boyhood job washing dishes and working with his father at the family’s delicatessen near Los Angeles prompted him to open Letzer’s Deli in Bend last year — with his two sons.

After a slow start in the winter of 2010, the deli’s business has been growing steadily, Letzer said, as customers spread the word about his “ultimate sandwich” selection and traditional Jewish deli fare from bagels and lox to Matzo ball soup, knishes, blintzes and cheesecake.

Now he’s expanding with plans to open a second location on Nov. 1 in the Remax building at 413 N.W. Franklin Ave., in downtown Bend.

Letzer said he was still recovering financially from starting his first deli and wouldn’t have had the capital to open a second location this soon if Mikel Lomsky, the building’s owner, hadn’t approached him with an offer that was too good to refuse.

Lomsky said Letzer’s is well-suited for downtown, so he is investing about $50,000 to convert a 486-square-foot section of the Remax building into a traditional New York- style deli with bistro seating.

“I think Letzer’s is a hidden gem. I personally love the product and the authenticity that Letzer’s has,” Lomsky said. “I see Letzer’s as a perfect fit for local business people looking for an authentic big-city deli experience.”

Lomsky said that while he is investing money remodeling the building to accommodate the deli, he will not be involved in the deli’s ownership. “My definition of a partnership is a positive working relationship with the small business owners that I work with,” Lomsky said. “My responsibility as a landlord is to make sure that they are able to have a profitable business and be able to make a living.”

Letzer said his family story mirrors the paths taken by generations of immigrants who came to the United States in the 20th century.

He said his grandparents, Sam and Riva Letzer, emigrated from Russia to escape religious persecution in 1917 following the Communist Revolution. They worked their way from Russia to Argentina to Canada and finally to the United States, where Letzer’s grandfather worked mostly in fish markets and delis. Their son, Martin — Sheridan’s father — was born in Canada in 1923 and came to the United States with his parents in 1925. In 1956, he opened his first deli in Lancaster, Calif., about 65 miles from Los Angeles.

In 1969, after selling his first deli, Letzer’s father opened another delicatessen in what was then a more upscale location in Sherman Oaks in the San Fernando Valley.

Letzer’s mother, Birdie, was an Irish immigrant, but he said she learned to make foods like knish, blintzes, pastries and cheesecake for the deli from his paternal grandmother, Riva.

In 1971, with California’s population explosion and spread of urban development, freeways and subdivisions, Letzer said the landlord sold the building where his father’s deli was located. Instead of starting over at 48, the older Letzer went to work at other delis until he retired around 1990 at age 67. The younger Letzer stopped working in delis with his father in 1974, shifting to construction jobs that paid higher wages.

In 1992, Letzer moved the family from California to Oregon after one of his sons was hurt in a carjacking.

“My son (Elijah) was in the drive-through lane at Taco Bell when the guys who robbed a jewelry store down the road jumped in the passenger’s seat and told him to get out. He wasn’t completely out of the car when they took off, and he got dragged. He was pretty banged up,” Letzer said. He said the police caught the carjackers and the family stayed until the case was over and they were convicted. “(But) the Los Angeles area was not a good place to raise a family, so we packed up and moved to Oregon,” he said.

Letzer spent the next 19 years working mostly for Home Depot stores in Oregon, initially selling doors and windows and later moving into management positions.

He left the Bend Home Depot in 2010 to return to his roots and open his deli on Division Street in the Scandia Square mall.

“At our Jewish-style deli, we smoke our own corned beef and pastrami and beef brisket,” said Letzer, who runs the business along with his wife, Laurina, 58, and sons Elijah, 38, and Gabriel, 22.

Like the first location on Division Street, the deli on Franklin Avenue will feature family recipes for everything from smoking techniques for corned beef to the recipes for homemade Matzo ball soup, potato salad and knish, he said.

Letzer credits his customers for helping the business grow by spreading the word about his sandwiches.

Matt Davis, 38, of Bend, was among dozens of customers last Friday, where he ordered a turkey and corned beef sandwich. The meat was piled three inches thick, with potato salad and a wedge of kosher dill pickle on the side.

“Their sandwiches are fabulous. I love to eat here as often as I can. They make a true East Coast sandwich,” Davis said.

Q: When did you start working at a deli?

A: My first memory of working in the deli was washing dishes at my father’s deli during the summer and after school when I was in the eighth grade.

Q: Where did the recipes for making the corned beef and pastrami briskets, Matzo ball soup, knishes, blintzes and other items on the menu come from?

A: Most of our recipes were handed down from my paternal grandmother, Riva Letzer.

Q: What was it about working in your family’s delis in California that made you want to open a deli in Bend at 61?

A: My favorite memories are of working with my father in the deli. He was a jokester, and it was fun just being around him, talking and learning things he taught me. I wanted to have that experience with my sons.

Q: Was the carjacking of your son’s car the main reason you left California for Oregon?

A: Over the years, the Los Angeles area deteriorated with gang violence, shootings and robberies. The carjacking was the last straw. It was pretty scary. We realized our son could have been killed.

Q: What do you like about Bend?

A: It is a great place to raise a family. Good schools and lots to do, fishing, hiking, camping. It’s a paradise. It’s 20 minutes away from doing anything you want.

The basics

What: Letzer’s Deli

Who: Sheridan Letzer, owner

Employees: 10

Where: 1155 S.W. Division, Bend and — starting Nov. 1 — 413 N.W. Franklin Ave.

Phone: 541-306-4496

Website: www.letzersdeli.com