It’s not crazy. ‘Meshugganah’ pop-up Jewish deli plans to settle down in own building

A Jewish deli is in the works in Charlotte. It’s not a crazy idea, the owner insists, even if the deli is called Meshugganah — the Yiddish word for “crazy.”

Rob Clement plans to move his pop-up Meshugganah deli, seen at Free Range Brewing and other businesses, into a permanent location, likely in the north side of the city. He said he’s still looking at several options but hopes to sign a lease in the next couple of weeks.

Clement hopes to open either in the summer or no later than Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which is in early September.

On Instagram, Clement describes Meshugganah as “Charlotte’s first scratch Jewish deli sourcing local ingredients.”

A brick-and-mortar location that will serve breakfast and lunch, he said, provides a larger platform for sharing the Jewish cuisine and culture. Some of the food will be kosher style and kosher products will be for sale.

Clement said he is looking for about a 1,000-to-3,000 square-foot space for a no-frills deli and bakery counter for takeout service. But, he hopes it will become like traditional Jewish delis and the bagel shop where he grew up in Florida, where everyone knew everyone.

“Food is so much about the people behind it,” he said. “It’s more than food, but it’s all about the food. There’s a lot of layers to it.”

Clement will team up with pastry chef Hannah Woociker, who runs Moonbox Bakery popup and is also Jewish, as well as other partners.

Clement launched Meshugganah in September after a long career in the restaurant industry, leaving his last chef’s position in May at The Porter’s House in Charlotte.

“We’ve grown very quickly, like lightning in a bottle,” said Clement, who calls himself “head mensch.” (Mensch is Yiddish for “a good person.”)

At the first pop-up Sept. 6, he sold out of the 16 sandwiches. This past weekend, he sold out of 50 sandwiches in less than 90 minutes.

Nice, Jewish comfort food

Meshugganah sells pastrami sandwiches, matzo ball soup, challah, brisket, pickles, and black and white cookies.

Clement said he plans to expand that offering to include bagels and full meals to go for holidays. What he makes depends on what’s available locally because up to 90% of the menu is locally sourced, he said.

“This food is like one of the most important things to me,” he said. Clement said he is spending a lot of time researching and diving into his culture.

But he’ll also add his own twists to dishes.

For instance, he recently made a smoked chicken and matzo ball gumbo for Mardi Gras. Clement said while some places in Charlotte sell Jewish foods, there was no place to get comfort food like matzo ball soup.

“There’s a difference when it matters so much to you, and people can taste that,” he said.

The coronavirus pandemic, made the 34-year-old realize what was most important to him, being able to spend time with the family, wife Franki, and two children ages 2 and 1.

“In a crazy time, it happened to be the perfect time to do it,” he said. “It’s real authentic Jewish cuisine.”

This story was originally published February 17, 2021 at 2:41 PM.