Canter’s Deli co-owner dead at 58
Gary Canter, co-owner of Los Angeles’ famous Canter’s Deli, has died of a sudden heart attack. According to the county coroner, the 58-year-old passed away on December 26 around 7 p.m. The Blast reports that the fatality is being treated as a natural death because he had a history of heart-related problems.
“It is with the greatest sadness I have ever felt to inform those of you who loved Gary over the years that he passed away from an apparent massive heart attack this evening around 7 p.m.,” the deli owner’s Facebook page reads. “We are preparing funeral arrangements and will keep you posted. And to those of you he called ‘Buddy Buddy” - he loved you and this city will never be the same without him.”
https://www.facebook.com/garycanters/posts/1792434314138627
Many have offered condolences in the comment section.
“It’s almost impossible to comprehend this. Canter’s Deli and the Canter family are a national treasure, and Gary Canter was a standard bearer for their proud legacy,” Jeffery Haus wrote.
Canter’s Deli was founded in Boyle Heights circa 1931 when the Canter family moved from the East Coast during the Great Depression. In 1953, the site migrated to Fairfax where it became a celebrity staple to names including Dodgers alum Tommy Lasorda, actor Mel Brooks, and rock band Guns and Roses. Former president Barack Obama even patronized the 24-hour eatery in 2014.
According to The Blast, Canter’s Deli has made appearances on multiple major television shows such as Mad Men, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage, NCIS: Los Angeles, and Private Practice.
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