December 5, 2023
Joan’s Bakery and Deli to open Dec. 15
Here’s what to expect from the Rare Roots bakery and how Meshugganah fits in
by Kristen Wile
The pastrami from Meshugganah is brined for seven days. Kristen Wile/UP
Joan’s Bakery and Deli, a takeout spot from Rare Roots Hospitality (Dressler’s, Fin & Fino, The Porter’s House, Chapter 6) will open to the public on Friday, Dec. 15. The small space at Metropolitan along the Rail Trail will sell the restaurant group’s popular desserts, pastries, and a savory menu from Jewish deli concept Meshugganah and its chef, Rob Clement.
The bakery’s namesake is Joan Dressler, owner Jon Dressler’s mother and the person behind the restaurant group’s signature cakes, including its beloved cheesecake. Rare Roots pastry chef Hannah Patel will create the pastry offerings for Joan’s, while the deli menu will feature dishes from Clement and Meshugganah that gained a loyal following when it launched as a pop-up during the pandemic. At the deli, he’ll cook up traditional Jewish deli items that include matzo ball soup, knishes, corned beef, and pastrami sandwiches. The pastrami is cured for seven days before being smoked, steamed, and hand-cut. It will be served with Lusty Monk mustard or as a Reuben on rye made by Verdant Bread.
“It’s been a long time coming, I’d say — a lot has happened,” Clement says. “To go from doing it on my own to having resources and a team behind me to help is a huge difference.”
While running the pop-up, Meshugganah’s output was limited. Now, however, Clement says his vision is nearing what he envisioned the pop-up could evolve into.
“We have the kitchen to do it,” Clement says. “There’s a lot of unique specialty things that no one’s ever done, that I haven’t even done, that I want to try out. Once we get rolling and get our staples out there and people are coming in and we know the demand, then I can start getting creative and branching out from just doing pastrami and corned beef to doing different things like bringing back tongue, doing other sandwiches that I haven’t even talked about.”
Clement previously worked for The Porter’s House before launching Meshugganah.
The bakery will serve bottled sodas, as well as coffee from Rare Roots employee Scott Platt’s Freedom Fresh Roasts. The kitchen will also act as the commissary kitchen providing the restaurant group’s desserts. Joan’s will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday once it opens to the public.
“I’m just so excited to get my mom down there and to be able to honor my mom for all the years of being my mom and providing the labor and the love and the cakes for the first 12 years of our existence and to be able to carry on the legacy,” Dressler says. “Family is everything to me, so to be able to honor her and to be able to have her name up in lights means a lot to me. And I know it does to her.’
