Longtime restaurateur Maurice Solomon, known locally as the Deli King for his decades of service at Fromin’s Deli, has died from cancer. Solomon died at age 81.
Solomon was born in Brussels, Belgium, and his family said he spent two years as a “hidden child”, evading Nazi capture by moving from town to town with his parents.
He began his deli career at Solomon’s Deli and Lefton’s after his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio when he was 10.
The future Deli King moved to Santa Monica in 1975, where he proudly owned Marjan’s Deli in The Brentwood Countrymart and Fromin’s for over 25 years, where is family said he served equal amounts of corned beef, love, and laughs every day.
Solomon retired in 2018 after working almost every day for 68 years. At the time, he said his favorite memories were the friendships with loyal customers both neighborhood faces and celebrities. He was known to have first served Cary Grant and made sandwiches for stars including Al Pacino, Adam Sandler and Dustin Hoffman.
His granddaughter Melanie said he will be deeply missed by his family, friends and beloved customers. She said a public memorial will be held post quarantine to celebrate the legacy of the beloved Deli King.
In lieu of flowers or food, the family requests that donations be made in Maurice’s memory to The Shoah Foundation at charity.gofundme.com/mauricesolomonshoahfoundation or Stand Up To Cancer at charity.gofundme.com/mauricesolomonstanduptocancer
If you have any stories or memories you’d like to share, please reach out to Maurice’s granddaughter, melanieshaevel@gmail.com
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