Manny's Deli

Ordering at the counter

Manny's traces its history back to 1942, when the Raskin brothers, Jack and Charlie, went into business together in Chicago, opening the Purity deli located at Van Buren and Halsted streets.[9] After World War II, Jack Raskin opened his own restaurant on Roosevelt Road near Maxwell Street, where he purchased a business known as Sunny's. In order to save money, Raskin chose to name his new restaurant "Manny's" after his son Emanuel, known as Manny, thus requiring only two letters on the "Sunny's" sign to be replaced.[10][11]

The restaurant had various locations over the ensuing years, with Manny Raskin eventually taking over for his father Jack.[12] Manny Raskin moved the cafeteria to its current location at 1141 South Jefferson Street in 1964.[12][13] Manny Raskin's son Kenneth began managing the restaurant during his father's lifetime and continued to do so after his father's death in 1983.[12] It is now run by Ken Raskin[14] and Ken's son Dan.[15] It has moved multiple times through the years, and was renovated in 2016.[16] The restaurant celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2022 with Governor J.B. Pritzker in attendance.[17][18]

In 2002, a Manny's location was opened at Midway International Airport,[19] but it closed in 2017 when many of the airport's restaurants were replaced.[20]

During the COVID-19 pandemic Manny's gave away 1,000 free sandwiches to masked customers.[21][22]

In 2022, Manny's began to make some of its food available for shipping nationwide.[23]

Manny's is self-described as a "Jewish-style cafeteria",[24] although it is not kosher.[25] Among the foods it is known for are corned beef sandwiches,[26][27] pastrami sandwiches,[13][27] potato pancakes,[27][13][28] and matzo ball soup.[26][27]