Deli lovers, rejoice! Stony Brook University recently welcomed Delancey Street, a glatt kosher delicatessen and restaurant located in the middle of campus and adjacent to the Gloria and Mark Snyder Hillel Center.

While Stony Brook had a traditional kosher cafeteria for many years, it needed an upgrade and more accessible location. In a partnership between the University's Faculty Student Association and Stony Brook Hillel, Delancey Street was born.

While Stony Brook's Jewish community is very eclectic, with Israelis, Persians, Syrians, Russians and long-settled Ashkenazic Jews, the concept behind Delancey Street is to preserve an important Jewish cultural artifact of New York. The name is evocative of the old Lower East Side, once home to a thriving immigrant Jewish community and many kosher eateries. The dcor is that of a new upscale campus dining facility with art and vintage photos of the old East Side and some of New York's most celebrated kosher delis.

"Stony Brook has achieved excellence in many educational, scientific and cultural endeavors and we hope that this will place Jewish life on the campus at a comparable level," said Rabbi Joseph Topek, director of Stony Brook Hillel. "This facility also reflects the wonderful partnership we have between the university and the Jewish community in providing for the needs of our students."