Langer’s Deli will celebrate its 75th anniversary with half-price sandwiches

Langer’s Delicatessen, a Los Angeles mainstay known for its hot pastrami on rye bread, will celebrate its 75th anniversary Saturday with half-price sandwiches.

The family-owned Jewish deli will offer the 50% discount to dine-in customers Saturday from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. at its 135-seat restaurant on South Alvarado Street near MacArthur Park. The deal will be limited to one sandwich per customer.

“To have any restaurant — or any business for that matter — stay in existence for 75 years is a rarity, it’s a big deal,” said owner Norm Langer. “... It shows I’m doing something right. I’m putting out a proper product, I’m treating my customers with respect.”

Langer said his father, founder Al Langer, had a mantra that he still works to employ today: “It matters not what you charge, but give the customer the same product today as the day you opened.”

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Though Langer, who is in his late 70s, doesn’t expect the deli to outlive him, he said he wants to keep providing high-quality meats, sandwiches and salads as long as makes sense.

“When I decide to hang it up, it’s going to be hung up, but I have no plans to hang it up,” Langer said. “As long as I have a crew of people in there that I trust … why shouldn’t I keep the doors open?”

He attributes much of the restaurant’s success during his tenure as owner to his crew of unionized employees, many of whom have worked there for decades.

“They are great employees, and they are the reason that we’re there 75 years,” said Langer, who has operated the deli since 1963. “It’s not only the food itself, but it’s the people preparing it, the people presenting it.”