Halifax restaurateur Victor Fineberg has died
Posted Dec 21, 2022 01:29:00 PM.
Victor Fineberg, a Halifax business operator who owned an “old world” delicatessen on Agricola Street, has died. He was 65.
Fineberg died Tuesday, according to a notice from the Atlantic Jewish Council. A graveside service is set for Wednesday afternoon, it said.
He and his wife, Sybil, opened the Hali Deli in 2012. For diners seeking “simple food” and tasty items from Eastern Europe, this restaurant has been a go-to spot.
Smoked meat, bagels, a hot brisket (boneless meat from beef or veal) sandwich, latkes (potato pancakes) and kasha varnishkes (bowtie noodles with buckwheat) are staples on the menu.
As is chicken matzah ball soup: “Jewish penicillin made with an old bird for flavor,” the menu says.
It's comfort food for those who enjoy the delicatessen experience.
“Many deli items were developed out of necessity,” the eatery's website says, “as Jewish people migrated from country to country. Up until a few decades ago, the kitchen was the centre of the Jewish home.”
Prior to opening the Hali Deli, Fineberg operated a restaurant on Spring Garden Road, Victor's Bar and Grill. That business closed in 2011.
Fineberg died during Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, which began Dec. 18 at sundown.
An online obituary says he's survived by his wife, his daughter, a grandchild, his mother and other relatives. Fineberg was predeceased by his father, Elliot, who died in 2018.
The service will be at Baron de Hirsch Cemetery, 3700 Windsor St., at 2 p.m.
A post on the Hali Deli Facebook page says the restaurant will be closed for a week of mourning.
Michael Lightstone is a freelance reporter living in Dartmouth
