Remembering Corky & Lenny’s After 67 Years on Cleveland’s East Side

An East Side staple has closed its doors for at least the time being. 

Corky & Lenny’s Deli in Woodmere didn’t open on Tuesday morning, instead posting a sign on its front door and a message on its website with the unfortunate news. 

“We are closed until further notice,” it says on the restaurant’s website. “Thank you to our loyal customers and staff! We enjoyed over 67 years of success. We [sic] sorry we couldn’t continue at this time.”

The restaurant originally opened in 1956 as Sanford “Corky” Kurland and Lenny Kaden hoped to create a New York-style deli that could capture Jewish tradition. Throughout the years, the restaurant was successful in doing that, becoming one of Greater Cleveland’s most-known eateries. It truly was, as its slogan suggested, “a place people meet.” 

One of the things that made Corky & Lenny’s so successful was its large assortment of sandwiches, breakfast items and, of course, its matzo ball soup. 

We previously highlighted Corky & Lenny’s as part of our 2020 Classic Cleveland Restaurants package. The recipe for the deli’s iconic soup is below with an excerpt from that story.

Matzo Ball Soup

For broth:

6 cups water

1 whole chicken

2 carrots

2 stalks celery

1 medium onion

1 sprig fresh dill

3 cloves crushed garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

For matzo balls:

2 cups matzo meal

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

8 lightly beaten eggs

1/2 cup oil or fat

1/2 cup water

Place whole chicken into a 6-quart kettle. Add water and cover. Cook on high heat, bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer for at least 30 minutes and skim foam often. Add carrots, celery, onion, dill, garlic, salt and pepper. Simmer for at least 2 hours, skimming foam frequently. Once finished, strain out broth, discard the carcass and add the vegetables and chicken back to the broth as needed.

This broth can be refrigerated up to 3 days or frozen up to 3 months. To make matzo balls, combine water, salt, pepper, eggs and oil in a small bowl. Add matzo meal and mix together until fully combined. Cover and refrigerate the mixture for at least one hour. Bring a large pot to a boil. Moisten hands with cold water and form mixture into 1 1/2-inch thick balls. Drop carefully into boiling water.

Once all of the balls are in, bring the water down to a simmer. Cover and cook for 40 minutes, removing the balls with a slotted spoon when done and adding them to the chicken broth as desired.

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