The owners of the legendary Starlite Deli, at the heart of New York’s Theater District, had no idea what they meant to the Broadway community until last week, when performers surprised them by singing Roy Rogers’ “Happy Trails” in front of the spot’s long-standing neon sign.
The sendoff, marking Jung Min and Jahee Kim’s retirement after 39 years in business, went viral on TikTok, garnering over 2.2 million views. The performers also surprised the married couple with a gift of $17,839.
“I was shocked,” Jahee Kim, 63, said in Korean. “I thought it was going to be just a few people coming to say something, but it was a huge crowd. My heart became heavy. I was so overwhelmed. I was so thankful.”
Posted by Broadway performer Preston Mui, the video attracted viewers from all over the world who flooded the comments section with messages of love and support.
“The best thing about owning Starlite was having a good relationship with the community,” Jung Min Kim, 71, said in Korean.
The Seoul-raised couple moved to New York in the early 1980s after they married in Korea — Jung Min Kim moved first and Jahee Kim followed shortly after. He opened Starlite in June 1984 after he learned the ropes of the business from his brother, who also ran a deli. They searched several places to start their business and found that Broadway was the best location.
“There were way more people back then, because Broadway tickets were cheaper than they are now,” he said.
Since the deli opened, the store has seen a steady stream of Broadway’s workforce, thanks to its proximity to highly frequented theaters like the Majestic, the Broadhurst, the Hayes and the St. James. But the Kims were unfamiliar with musicals in general before they opened their shop.
“When we started, we weren’t familiar with Broadway shows at all,” they said. “Now, we’re fans. ‘Phantom of the Opera’ is the best, of course. ‘Chorus Line,’ ‘Chicago,’ much more.”
The Kims recalled seeing countless celebrities in their store — even if they couldn’t quite match their names to their faces.
“Who’s that guy with the deep voice?” Jung Min Kim asked. “Oh, Ian McKellen.”
“Ralph Fiennes, too,” Jahee Kim interjected. “When I saw his face, he was so shockingly handsome. I was speechless, I just stared at him.”
“Philip Seymour Hoffman also came every day before he passed,” they added. “We never acted starstruck. We’d just say it under our breaths and talk about it amongst ourselves after they left.”
For the couple, their place being regarded as a Broadway mecca came as a surprise, as they assumed their tight-knit relationship with the community was simply a byproduct of their decadeslong interactions.
“I didn’t realize that our store was beloved,” Jung Min Kim said. “We liked each other, of course. As a customer-owner relationship, we should like each other. But this time, when I decided to retire, everything they felt came out all at once, and that’s when I realized it.”
The store had steady business through the years — never too successful and never too terrible, Kim said— save for the recession in 1989 and the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It was my first recession, and I wasn’t prepared,” Kim said. “It was hard to pay rent, and it was really hard in general. But I learned how I can handle the next recession. So now I’m prepared.”
Asked about why he decided to retire, Jung Min Kim said his stamina isn’t built for operating a deli anymore.
“I’m old. I’m 71. So it’s not like before,” he said. “I worked really hard before, but I just can’t do the same. I tried saving my business, too, but no one was willing to take over my deli. So I just decided to retire. Now, Dunkin’ Donuts is going to replace our shop.”
As for their retirement plans, they say they’re just happy to have the freedom to do things regular people with free time have the ability to do.
“I woke up at 4:30 every morning, even without an alarm,” Jung Min Kim said. “I want to visit my sons who are out of state. I want to go to English school.”
“I want to travel,” Jahee Kim added. “To be honest, he’s worked so much, from early morning to late at night — and I’m happy he won’t have to do that anymore. We’re free now. My husband can rest and we can be free together. We can eat brunch with the kids together. It feels really good.”
