Doc Sam's NY Deli in downtown Sarasota has closed

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Sol Meyer NY Delicatessen's Scott Mullen, chef and managing partner,   poses with  sous chefs Joshua Wecht (left) and Davis Mitchell. STAFF PHOTO / WADE TATANGELO

Sol Meyer NY Delicatessen's Scott Mullen, chef and managing partner, poses with sous chefs Joshua Wecht (left) and Davis Mitchell. The deli closed this week. STAFF PHOTO / WADE TATANGELO

The downtown Sarasota deli war did not last long.

Doc Sam's NY Deli & Gourmet Eatery, formerly Sol Meyer NY Delicatessen, closed this week.

Doc Sam's held a re-branding ceremony March 2. The name, Doc Sam's NY Deli & Gourmet Eatery,  was a reference to owner Dr. Myles Samotin, an orthopaedic surgeon based in Naples, and his wife, Samantha Ardenfriend, the marketing director at Samotin's practice, Samotin Orthopaedics.

Ardenfriend is the sister of Solomon Shenker, the original "Sol" in the Sol Meyer NY Delicatessen before the family's acrimonious split.

Shenker's opened Sol's NYC Delicatessen earlier this month in the Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar space in the Main Plaza/Hollywood 20. The complex was renamed BBC Main Street after being purchased by Jesse Biter and fellow Sarasota investors David Chessler, along with famed golfer Greg Norman, and Eric Baird, in November. Biter and Chessler are business partners with Shenker in Sol's NYC Delicatessen. The deli is the first new tenant since the purchase of the plaza. .

Recent visits by this reporter and other Ticket staff members have found Sol's thriving. In addition to being a sit-down restaurant with a takeout counter, the deli has a full bar that serves, beer wine and craft cocktails.

No one with Doc Sam's NY Deli & Gourmet Eatery could be reached for comment and Doc Sam's Facebook page has disappeared.

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WADE TATANGELO can be reached by email or call 941-361-4955. Follow him on Twitter at @wtatangelo or Facebook.com/wade.tatangelo

Last modified: March 20, 2016
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