click to enlarge 
Photo by Doug Trattner
Davis Bakery in Woodmere
There’s nothing like walking into a great Jewish deli like Davis Bakery. Northeast Ohio has no shortage of places to grab a hot corned beef sandwich, but a real delicatessen offers so much more. Display coolers are filled with cold cuts like salami, roast beef and turkey. Filling in every nook and cranny are appetizing snacks and sides like dill pickles, knishes, potato latkes, lox, macaroni salad and coleslaw. Across the aisle are fresh-baked breads and pastries that fill the air with a distinctive aroma of rye, cream cheese and raspberry.
As the number of Jewish delis continues to decline at a depressing rate, Davis Bakery keeps bucking the trend. The family-owned operation has been a fixture in Cleveland for a staggering 85 years – and it shows no signs of wear or decline. Many of the bakery’s most popular items today – delicacies like Jewish rye bread, coconut bars, and Russian tea biscuits – are direct links to the past, crafted from recipes dating back to the company’s inception and even earlier.
Davis Bakery started small, with a single bakery in Cleveland Heights. Brothers Carl, Ben and Julius Davis launched the business in 1939 after gaining experience elsewhere. Additional locations soon followed, including a flagship bakery at Cedar Center that supplied the satellite shops with breads, pastries and cakes. Following the purchase of two failing competitors in 1961, Davis skyrocketed to 39 retail stores.
“Our bakery boxes used to say, ‘North, east, south and west, Davis Bakery is the best,’ because we had stores all over Greater Cleveland – from Great Northern and Fairview Park to Mentor and Painesville,” says second-generation owner Carl Davis.
The decline began with the arrival of large chain grocery stores, which instead of buying local products like their independent predecessors began offering their own bakery items at lower cost. Yet as most of the small Davis shops around town closed, the Cedar Center location soared thanks to its deli component, which the other locations lacked. And while other delicatessens of the day operated as full-service, sit-down restaurants, Davis opted for an over-the-counter style of service that exists to this day.
The Davises added the Woodmere location in 1981 and, when eminent domain was bearing down on the Cedar Center location after more than 50 years, they built a production bakery and deli in Warrensville Heights. If you visited the Woodmere shop 30 years ago like I used to do, you would notice very few changes in food, layout and service. The principal change came eight years ago, when they added a small dining room and patio for on-site enjoyment.
Despite its long, storied history in Cleveland, Davis has maintained a lower profile than full-service restaurants like Sand’s Deli, Jack’s Deli and Corky & Lenny’s. Located at the end of a shopping plaza, the modest storefront belies the quantity of culinary delights within. Corned beef is king, but there are dozens of hearty sandwiches on the menu, from classic deli cuts like pastrami, braised brisket and tongue to specialty combos that pair various meats, cheeses and condiments. The only thing better than a hot corned beef sandwich is one built on uber-fresh seeded rye bread. Other house-baked breads include buttery challah, glossy egg knots, sourdough and bagels. All sandwiches include – free of charge – a Don Hermann pickle, chocolate chip cookie, “and a smile.”
Matzo ball soup is available every day, paired with daily specials like mushroom beef barley, chicken noodle and vegetarian split pea. There are a handful of fresh and heathy salads and a dozen different deli sides. It isn’t a holiday, celebration or shiva without a deli platter or pastry tray from Davis.
click to enlarge 
Photo by Doug Trattner
Offerings from Davis Bakery
I can picture my late grandmother standing before Davis Bakery’s colorful pastry counter, the scene likely unchanged from what it is today. Striking black-and-white cookies, cream-filled lady locks and chocolate-dipped pretzels fill the glassy displays. Signature items like airy coconut bars, flaky rugelach and fruit-filled Russian tea biscuits are unchanged from decades ago.
One of the main reasons delis around the country are closing – along with increased competition, changing diet and shifting demographics – is the lack of generational succession. Selling off to a non-family member often results in a decline in quality, a fate Davis has been lucky to avoid thanks to sons Jayson and Stuart.
“I’m fortunate in many ways,” says Joel. “Number one, that both of my boys wanted to come into the business, and number two, which makes me even luckier, is the fact that they have a great work ethic. That’s one of the things I have always tried to instill in my sons – something my dad and uncles instilled in me.”
Davis Bakery & Deli
28700 Chagrin Blvd., Woodmere
4572 Renaissance Parkway, Warrensville Heights
davisbakery.net
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