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Famous 4th Street Deli is serving pastrami with a stash of mustard

Hikes in the cost of plastic packaging and aluminum lids have tripled the cost of mustard.

Deli veteran Russ Cowan, stands with a ton of mustard packed in bulk in a storage area at his Famous 4th Street Delicatessen. Rising prices for packaging and shipping forced him to abandon the small bottles he used to purchase. Another ton awaits him at his pickle guy's warehouse in the Bronx.
Deli veteran Russ Cowan, stands with a ton of mustard packed in bulk in a storage area at his Famous 4th Street Delicatessen. Rising prices for packaging and shipping forced him to abandon the small bottles he used to purchase. Another ton awaits him at his pickle guy's warehouse in the Bronx.Read moreCraig LaBan / Staff

It has been a spicy year for the mustard lovers of the world. First came the sudden scarcity of mustard seeds in 2022 due to climate change-driven heat waves that damaged crops in Canada and sent France into a crise de la moutarde over its diminishing Dijon. Then came hikes in the cost of plastic packaging and aluminum lids that hit the pastrami trade where it hurts.

“A year ago I paid $1 for one of these 12-ounce bottles,” said Russ Cowan, pointing to one of the plastic squeeze bottles of New York-style deli mustard that sit on every table at his Famous 4th Street Deli in Queen Village. “But then five months ago, it tripled due to the cost of shipping and the plastic. Suddenly, I’m paying more for the bottle than the mustard itself!”

Cowan, a fourth-generation deli survivor who plans to open Radin’s later this year in Cherry Hill, would not be deterred. He tried an alternative brand, but it was far too pungent for his deli’s steamy house pastrami and Philly’s best corned beef.

“It can’t be so strong it kills the flavor of the meat,” says Cowan. “I’m particular about my mustard.”

So Cowan invested big in bulk, packing Famous’ already cramped second-floor stairwell with 60 cases of large-size tubs that equal nearly a ton. It’s a savvy business move, for sure, lowering the deli’s mustard expenses to one-fifth its previous cost while the cost of goods continue to fluctuate at the mercy of weather, war, labor, fuel, disease, and politics that have destabilized the supply chain of everything from computer chips to eggs over the past few years. .

But all that mustard in one place — a pastrami-prepper’s dream stash for the deli apocalypse — cannot help but inspire dreams of fragrant rye bread sandwiches piled high for months to come.

Cowan isn’t taking chances, even if Philadelphians, he says, love their Russian dressing even more than mustard.

“I’ve got another ton ofit sitting at my sour pickle and kraut guy’s warehouse in the Bronx,” he said. “We should be good for just about a year.”

Famous 4th St. Delicatessen, 700 S. 4th St., 215-922-3274; famous4thstreetdelicatessen.com