A restaurateur who started his career as a dishwasher at the famed Carnegie Deli is doubling his offer to buy the doomed institution to $10 million.
Carnegie Deli owner Marian Harper Levine, 65, announced in September that she planned to shutter the iconic pastrami palace on Dec. 31.
Sammy Musovic, whose first job after emigrating from then-Yugoslavia 30 years ago was washing dishes for $3 an hour at Carnegie, now owns uptown Manhattan restaurants Sojourn, Vero and Selena Rosa.
He was so devastated by the closure news, he offered $5 million to buy the deli, which was rejected by the Levine family. Now he is doubling the offer.
Musovic told Page Six, “It was an honor to wash dishes at the Carnegie Deli — it inspired me to stay in the food business, and now I own three restaurants. I believe closing it down would be a huge loss for New York — it would be the same as losing the Empire State Building. It is a landmark. Buying the Carnegie Deli would be a dream come true for me. I would be able to save all those jobs, and preserve New York history. This is the best deli in the world.”
A rep for the family told Page Six, “We have not received a serious offer from Musovic. There is no interest in discussing the sale of Carnegie Deli on Seventh Avenue.”