Shock: Old-time Carshon’s Deli in Fort Worth now takes credit cards. What changed?
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- Carshon’s Delicatessen opened in 1925 but lists 1928 as its official date.
- The family-owned Fort Worth deli added credit cards after seeing guests leave at the door.
- Carshon’s retains classic menu items and busy lunch traffic while adding card payments.
One of Fort Worth and Texas’ oldest restaurants now has one of the newest credit-card machines.
Carshon’s Delicatessen, a steadfast cash-only holdout against plastic since 1925, has quietly added credit cards.
Texas’ temple of old-time Reuben or Ruthie deli sandwiches had not taken credit cards for 60 years. That’s when diners began carrying today’s Visa card.
Stephanie Swift is the younger generation of the family that has owned Carshon’s since 2005 at 3133 Cleburne Road near West Berry Street a half-mile east of TCU.
She was minding the front a few weeks ago. That’s when she saw guests leaving after they spotted the “Cash Only” sign.
“This needed to happen,” she said.
Only about one-third of adults still carry cash.
Also, costs have gone up sharply for Carshon’s special-order meats, cheeses and breads, some unchanged since the 1950s.
“I still love cash for everything,” she said, “but I saw how much business was turning around [at the door].”
Carshon’s remains busy at peak lunch hour, particularly for Mary Swift’s regionally loved pie specials: pecan (Mondays), lemon meringue (Tuesdays), chocolate meringue (Wednesdays and Saturdays), coconut meringue (Thursdays) and coconut or banana (Fridays).
But it’s amazing that more customers don’t go early.
Carshon’s opens at 9 a.m. weekdays and Saturdays and serves breakfast, including omelets or stuffed French toast. Or get an early sandwich.
Until 3 p.m., it’s also an excellent stop for whatever pie or chocolate pudding cake the lunch crowd left behind, or for a takeout sandwich for dinner.
Summer note: Desserts include cappuccino ice-box pie from Plano-based Henry’s Homemade Ice Cream. That’s the same pie served at steakhouses and country clubs.
The regular menu features pastrami, corned beef, roast beef or smoked turkey sandwiches, matzo ball soup, hot dogs and an exceptionally popular homemade chili con carne.
But it also includes old-time kosher-style deli favorites such as a sardine plate, or pickled herring to take home.
Seeing credit cards has shocked some customers who thought Carshon’s was unshakable. A few made a special bank trip to bring cash they didn’t need, Swift said.
In an understatement, she said, “We don’t change a whole lot around here.”
The restaurant has moved three times, and some of its history became cloudy along the way. But its origin is now clear.
In 1925, founder Dave Carshon founded the Kosher Market and Delicatessen downtown with grocer Morris. Chicotsky. Then, in 1928, Carshon bought out his partner and changed the name to Carshon’s Kosher Market.
That’s why the deli lists the opening date as 1928. That makes it the city’s third oldest restaurant behind Paris Coffee Shop (1926) and Riscky’s market (1927).
But the deli really opened in 1925, making it the oldest restaurant in Fort Worth and the third oldest in North Texas (El Fenix, 1918, and the Chaf-In Restaurant in Cleburne, 1920).
It’s open for late breakfast and lunch weekdays and Saturdays; 817-923-1907, carshonsdeli.com.
