Giorgio DeLuca in the old SoHo Dean & DeLuca—it defined the New York gourmet grocer as we know it. (Photo by James Leynse/Corbis via Getty Images.)
Dean & DeLuca, once an epicenter for high-end epicurean delights, shuttered in New York back in 2019. But—like so many other Manhattan spots—it lives on in Japan. I’ve seen people, often food writers I know, stop by as a sort of rite of passage.
Joey Scalabrino—of the fast-growing, New York-born Apollo Bagels—is hosting a pop-up at one of Dean & DeLuca’s Tokyo stores until May 24th (he caught my eye posting a block of Hokkaido-milk Philadelphia cream cheese). When I called him, he said he’s been on a press tour, doing bagel tastings for Japanese media. The collab came about from meeting the Japanese Dean & DeLuca’s CEO Masaki “Mac” Yokokawa some years back. It’s a personal achievement for Scalabrino, who grew up in downtown Manhattan, and calls himself Dean & DeLuca’s “biggest fan.” Over the years, he’s collected Dean & DeLuca merch, from a vintage spice rack to the brand’s magazines. Scalabrino claims it's the Japanese chain’s first collaboration in more than two decades, which is generating local excitement. “I’ve always dreamed of being a part of its revival,” he says.
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