Monday was the last day in business for Warren Rosenfeld’s first Jewish delicatessen, a six-seat destination for bagels, kosher hot dogs and Reuben sandwiches on Coastal Highway in Ocean City.

It is not, however, an end to Rosenfeld’s brand in Maryland.

As he ties up loose ends at one shop, the restaurant owner is getting ready to bring another to Salisbury. The deli, expected to open this fall at 923 Mount Hermon Road, will maintain a presence for Rosenfeld’s in Maryland and add to the small chain’s footprint, which also counts stores in Delaware’s Rehoboth Beach and South Bethany.

The business has been a retirement project for Rosenfeld, who says he is not cut out for the retired lifestyle. The former tech CEO and managing partner of a law firm in Chevy Chase moved to a beach house in Ocean Pines a little over a decade ago with the intention of relaxing with his wife after a high-powered career.

“I was pretty much bored within five weeks,” he said. “I had worked 70 hours [a week] my whole life and was a very active person.”

He decided his next project would be a restaurant, inspired by his father’s experiences as a restaurateur in Washington, D.C., in the late 1960s. He landed on a Jewish deli because, at the time, there weren’t any within a two-hour drive of Ocean City.

Rosenfeld’s Jewish Delicatessen opened in 2013 in a little red-roofed building next to Dead Freddie’s Island Grill (the restaurant’s owner is Rosenfeld’s landlord). The restaurateur is there every day by 9 a.m., checking in with staff before he heads to his Delaware stores. He’s got his routine set so that he’s home for dinner by 5:30 p.m.

“In my life, it was just supposed to be a place for me to go everyday,” Rosenfeld said, but over 11 years it’s turned into more. He’s made close friends through the deli and heard from customers grateful to find a Jewish deli on the shore.

He’s also learned to field complaints, though the years haven’t made them sting any less.

“It really just tears your heart apart when someone goes online and gives you one star,” Rosenfeld said. “Sometimes you want to tell people it’s just a sandwich. Why are you so angry about a sandwich?”

The sandwiches are a main draw at Rosenfeld’s, where the menu hasn’t changed much in more than a decade. Some of the most popular include the Papa Joe, a Reuben named after Rosenfeld’s grandfather, and Paul’s Traditional Corned Beef, named for his late brother-in-law. Diners can fill up on appetizers like pickle plates, potato latkes, cheese blintzes and chopped liver.

At one point, Rosenfeld partnered with Delaware’s Big Fish Hospitality with the idea of opening 100 deli locations. That agreement yielded three stores — Rehoboth, South Bethany and a now-shuttered location in Wilmington — but sputtered during the pandemic. The partnership has since been dissolved.

Rosenfeld also operated a food truck for a time, as well as a booth at the Salisbury Regional Airport which was successful until COVID hit.

He nearly closed the Ocean City store two years ago, after learning his landlord hoped to knock the building down. The demolition plans have since been delayed, but he’s still ready to move on. The Coastal Highway building is too dated, he said, with crumbling walls, failing appliances and faulty air conditioning.

“Everything has its time, and for this particular deli in this particular building, it was time,” he said.

Customers have asked if he plans to open another location in Ocean City. For now, the answer is no, though Rosenfeld said he’s negotiating a possible franchise deal that could bring the deli back to the beach town.

Business in Ocean City has been slow the past two years, with recent sales down 20% at Rosenfeld’s compared with 2023. He blames the pandemic’s lingering effects, including inflation. When the deli opened, a Reuben sandwich was $12.50; now it’s $19.75.

“When you walk in and know between two people you’re going to spend $50 on two Cokes and two sandwiches, you have to think about that,” Rosenfeld said.

But he’s optimistic for the deli’s continued growth, even as it leaves its first home behind. Rosenfeld, who will turn 70 next spring, reckons the Salisbury store is far from his last project.

“I’m thrilled I’ll still have the restaurants, thrilled that I was in Ocean City, thrilled that people liked it so much,” he said.