Kohn’s Kosher Deli is being sued for nearly $150,000 in unpaid bills by an Illinois food distributor. The deli is one of the only kosher butcher, grocery and catering business in the region.
Mid Town Distribution, which carries kosher goods, filed a lawsuit June 27 in the U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois against Bayk Kohns LLC, which consists of Yehuda Kestenbaum and Avraham Blum.
The distributor alleges that Kohn’s has failed and refused to pay $149,345 for the sale and delivery of goods to the Creve Coeur kosher deli, butcher shop, bakery, grocery store and catering business. The lawsuit outlines almost 20 unpaid transactions between March and April.
“Although acknowledging their obligation to pay the balance due, Kohn’s and Kestenbaum have failed to make payment,” the lawsuit states.
Earlier this month, Kohn’s Kosher Deli, the region’s last old-school deli, closed. A July 9 statement from the Vaad Hoeir of Ƶ, which provides kosher certification to Kohn’s, says that “the Vaad is acutely aware of the need in Ƶ for fresh kosher meat, kosher catering and a kosher restaurant.”
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According to the statement, individuals are working to perhaps reopen Kohn’s, but “numerous practical and legal issues need to be sorted through by the parties involved.”
Kestenbaum and Rabbi Zvi Zuravin of Vaad Hoeir did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Kohn’s Kosher Deli is located at 10405 Old Olive Street Road.
Simon and Bobbie Kohn, Holocaust survivors, founded Kohn’s in 1963. The Kohns’ adult children, Lenny Kohn and Rosemary Kohn Cooper, operated the business until new owners took over in 2022.