Food Truck owner with a passion for Deli foods

When the pandemic hit and he found his life in a rut, Jon Barr turned to comfort food as a source of inspiration. Jon Barr was stuck in a soul-sucking cycle of corporate jobs until one day he decided to quit and take up a small role at Bonefish Grill in the South Hills. That was a decade ago, his inclination towards food lead to him eventually work in multiple high-end restaurants in Pittsburgh. All was well until the pandemic struck the hospitality industry and Barr found himself to be unemployed again. 

Jon Barr turned to his one source of solace, food. He started cooking delicacies from his Jewish childhood and heritage and eventually turned it into a business known today as Haskel's Delicatessan. A food truck serving the best pastrami and brisket on Houston and Ludlow streets. Barr said that the food served in his truck represents him, as he grew up eating deli on every occasion. Even though Pittsburgh is a tightly knit Jewish neighborhood, Jewish Deli's have decreased in number. Commonly fund local foods include sandwiches, pizza, and Asian food. In such a community Barr has carved a niche for himself by serving the food of his and many of his neighbor's childhood. Barr believes that the deli food helped him overcome the effect of the pandemic, at the employed at Acorn in Shadyside, Barr did not expect the situation to last for months. 

Sitting at home, Barr missed the constant hustle-bustle of a restaurant kitchen, therefore he taught himself how to make pastrami and started making around 20 briskets a day, he eventually had to meet new people to give away what he cooked. The truck started in 2020 and has been an attraction of Pittsburg since then, Barr proudly talks about people who drive in from New York to taste his food. 

Source: Pittsburg Post-Gazette