For nearly 110 years, Attman’s Delicatessen has been a neighborhood staple. Starting on Lombard Street in Baltimore and later expanding to locations in Potomac and Harbor Point, the deli was founded by Ukrainian immigrant Harry Attman. It began as a small Jewish grocery store, though it would shift its focus to deli meats and sandwiches in the 1940s.
The ownership of Attman’s has remained in the Attman family ever since, through three generations. Now. Attman’s is one of only two remaining delis on Lombard Street, as well as the longest-surviving deli in Baltimore and the oldest deli in the country still owned by its original family.
That history has made it an institution in not only Baltimore, but in the Washington region as a whole.
“Where else are you going to find a business owned by the same family for almost 110 years now?” said Marc Attman, the deli chain’s current owner. “People want to go where their grandparents and great-grandparents went. We’ve always been a very charitable family, and people will come in and talk about how we gave their great-grandfathers their first jobs, or gave them something to eat when they didn’t have anything.”
Attman’s opened its Potomac location in 2012 and relocated to its current location in 2020. The deli continues to serve up deli classics daily like reuben sandwiches, nova lox and plenty of breakfast items. And for daring diners looking for a challenge, there’s the Lexington Market Monster — a gargantuan $54.99 sandwich piled with corned beef, pastrami, swiss cheese, coleslaw and Russian dressing.
Attman’s popularity isn’t just local, either. The deli has been featured in Food Network’s list of “51 Best Delis in the Country” and made the top 10 of Food & Wine’s “Best Hot Dog in Every State.” It’s also expanded its catering services nationwide, shipping sandwich platters through the kosher catering website Goldbelly.
“Whenever something changes in the deli world, we’re a place reporters call to ask about what kind of effect it’s going to have,” Marc Attman said.
Operating Attman’s Delicatessen isn’t Marc Attman’s main job — the 73-year-old is an optometrist by trade. But he’s fully invested in helping the business continue to grow and thrive.
“I promised my father that I would keep the business alive, and make it better,” he said. “Over the years, I’ve been lucky to find people who love it as much as I do.”
