The people asked, and the Attman family answered – a second location of Baltimore’s famed Attman’s Deli will open in May at the Cabin John Shopping Center in Potomac. 

According to Marc Attman, the Montgomery County location has been years in the making, after numerous Potomac locals made the hour-long trek to Baltimore for a Pastrami sandwich and to hint that a closer location would be welcomed with open arms.

“People have asked us for years to come to Potomac,” he said. “They come into Baltimore for the deli, for catering, and always wish we would come out there. They asked; we came. We really are excited and we know that the community is very, very excited too.”

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The Attman family plans a May 2013 opening for the Potomac location, featuring a full dinner menu, an on-site party room, on- and off-site catering, as well as breakfast, lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch hours.

“Everything is freshly made on the premises, all the recipes are the same as we’ve used since 1915, but we’re working on a couple of twists that we haven’t finalized yet,” Attman said, adding that suggestions for the new location are welcomed on the store website and Facebook page.

“We want to hear what people want. We want to service our community,” he said. “This location will be a part of the Potomac community just like the Baltimore store has been a part of the Baltimore community.”

The deli has been a fixture of Baltimore's famous Corned Beef Row for 97 years, serving traditional New York deli fare like pastrami and corned beef sandwiches, latkes and bagels. 

After the recent closure of New York City’s Stage Deli, after 75 years in business, Attman’s Deli in Baltimore remains one of the few standing delicatessen icons in the country. In Bethesda, two New York style delis opened within four months of each other to the excitement of the community, only to close less than a year later.

“Deli is dying, supposedly, but we want to prove to the world and the Washington area that deli is alive and we’re looking forward to opening,” Attman told Patch, adding that the new location will bring more variety to the Potomac restaurant scene.

“Good food, good times, camaraderie with your friends; we’re serving delicatessen. It’s not a 5-star restaurant,” he said.

What traditional deli sandwich is your favorite? Let us know in the comments!

Check out this post for a list of recently opened restaurants in the Potomac area.