Sheila Leventhal's parents opened Cecil's Deli in St. Paul's Highland Park neighborhood in July 1949. She remembers sitting on a soda crate in a back room with her sister, peeling and dicing potatoes for their mother to cook on a two-burner stove.
In 1980, Leventhal and her husband David bought the restaurant from her parents and the couple — along with children, grandchildren, longtime staff and their children — have kept Minnesota's oldest delicatessen churning out chicken soup, Reuben sandwiches and knishes ever since.
Eye On St. Paul recently visited Leventhal at Cecil's, where she paused — briefly — to tell the story of her restaurant, and herself. This interview was edited for length.
Q: How did you get your start here?
A: I was 8 when we opened. My parents would bring me to work sometimes. By 13, I was dusting shelves. My dad was Cecil [Glickman]. My mom was Faye. They were in this together and remained in it together until they were done. And then they walked out together. They walked out July 1, [1980]. That's when David and I bought the business.
Q: And you're still here every day?
A: I'm always running. Recently, I caught my foot on something in the garage, I spun and fell and broke my lower pelvis.
Q: When?