So a quick glance from the outside in will probably have you thinking this is another shady old sandwich house in West Philly. But from the moment you cross the store’s threshold, it will be obvious that Koch’s Deli is just a little more than that. Let’s make it clear, right away: Koch’s Deli is to a sandwich what Louis Vuitton is to a leather purse.
This little hidden wonderland of sandwich goodness digs its roots all the way back to 1966, when Jewish couple Sid and Fran Koch first opened the store as their family business. Gigantic hoagies and sandwiches were generously packed with genuine kosher products, prepared fresh and right in front of the customers, who were constantly handing out free, delicious samples as they waited in line.
Koch’s was quick to earn a name for itself in the neighborhood, especially among Penn students, who contributed to making the tiny sandwich store a veritable institution in the area (and maybe in the country).
“If, after four years, you haven’t been to Koch’s once, you really haven’t experienced college the right way,” hollers Ezra from behind the counter as he cuts another paper-thin slice of my free sample of kosher pastrami.
“We are not here trying to make a sandwich and get rid of you. We are here to make you feel a part of Koch’s. We want you to come again, and when you do, we will remember your name.”
The family atmosphere–and the constant free samples Ezra and Rami give away–will easily make you forget the 20 minute wait for your sandwich. 
The endless assortment of kosher meat and vegetable specialties won’t make you regret paying a little more than average for your hoagie (once we tasted the corned-beef, we knew exactly where those two extra bucks went).
“Layers and layers and layers” of paper-thin beef (“It took me ten minutes just to cut it so thin,” points out Ezra from behind the slicer) and delicious, home-made dressing are packed into one of the thickest sandwiches that you will ever see.
“We make them so big, that we have customers sign waivers against jaw dislocation,” jokes Ezra. “You have to promise that you won’t sue us if you get hurt trying to eat our sandwiches.”
AroundPhilly Staff
