Owner’s retirement ended
legacy of Lyn's Deli

Question: What ever happened to Lyn's Delicatessen at Ala Moana Center? Where can we get their famous pastrami sandwich?

Answer: Lyn's Delicatessen, a popular takeout restaurant for some 30 years at Ala Moana Center, was closed Feb. 28, 1996, by the owner of Patti's Chinese Kitchen, which is still open at the center.

According to Patti Louie, her father, Calvin Chun, opened Lyn's Deli in the late '60s. Lyn's was originally a "small concession stand" located next to the old Foodland. It expanded to a much larger spot around the corner, about where Ethel M's candy store is now, facing Ala Moana Boulevard, Louie said. About 1988, Lyn's moved into the Makai Market food court.

Years later, when the center made plans to renovate the food court and move Lyn's to yet another space within the court, "Dad decided to close" and retire from the business, Louie said.

Chun had three restaurants he named after his daughters, Lyn, Patti and Charlene (whose name graced a downtown restaurant). Patti's Kitchen and Lyn's Deli opened about the same time -- the mid- to late 1960s, said Louie. Chun and Louie cannot remember the exact dates.

Louie's husband, James, also manages Patti's, which is still owned by Chun.

Louie said she gets a lot of requests for Lyn's famous pastrami sandwich -- "We miss it, too!" She has even ordered cases of Charley's Pride pastrami from H&W Foods for gifts. But the last time she ordered it, she was told H&W would no longer bring it in, she added.

Her father would only order the Charley's Pride brand -- "it has to be that brand" because it had a distinctive taste, he would say. He also had his own recipe for the coleslaw, potato salad and corned beef, Louie said.

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