Famous 4th Street Deli has been sold. Only the locks will change.

For only the second time in a century, Famous 4th Street Deli in Queen Village has been sold.

Earlier this week, restaurateur Al Gamble, whose New England-based Locals 8 Hospitality Group’s portfolio includes a variety of concepts and a catering company, bought the business from Russ Cowan, who took over in 2005 from deli scion David Auspitz. This is Gamble’s first Jewish-style delicatessen. Cowan said he retains ownership of the building, at Fourth and Bainbridge Streets.

“I fell in love with it when I came here the first time,” said Gamble, who said the chocolate babka French toast was “possibly one of the most amazing things I’ve eaten in my life, and I think we took [some] home.”

Gamble, who would only say that he is in his 50s, grew up on deli food, including New York’s Carnegie, a favorite of his father’s. “He would take me as a kid to some famous ones in Connecticut and New York, and I’ve never seen him so happy as when those sandwiches and potato knishes would come out. There was some youth exposure with how happy these places make people feel.”

He and Cowan met through a business broker. “It’s just a very unique product and the staff culturally are very much aligned with who we are, with quality and fresh-made food,” Gamble said. “I’m honored.”

Gamble brought in Barry Steinman, 66 — a longtime local caterer who as a young man had worked for Auspitz and his father, Sam — to be general manager. “They’re about quality and continuity,” Steinman said of Gamble and Locals 8. “We’re not changing anything.”

Cowan, 68, had listed the property for sale last year, as he is planning to open a new deli, Radin’s, near his home in Cherry Hill and preferred to avoid the tsuris of operating two restaurants at once. Radin’s is expected to open by March in Short Hills Shopping Center. (Cowan has opened and sold numerous delis in Philadelphia and South Jersey since the mid-1980s. That said, Famous was always on the market: “My standard answer is what every business owner would say: ‘For the right number, I’ll sell,’” he said, wryly, last year.)

Records of Famous’ founding are unclear. Family sources cite “Auspitz Brothers Delicatessen, famous for fine foods” established in 1923 in what was then a garment district populated largely by Jewish immigrants. Famous also could have dated from 1933, based on more current research. “Just say it’s old,” said Auspitz, 78, who had run it for decades after his father fell ill and died in 1989. This deli is unrelated to other area delis named “Famous.”

Under Cowan, Famous retained its black-and-white tiled, tin-ceilinged amalgamation of corner grocery, takeout counter, and restaurant whose enclosed porch provides a front-row seat to Queen Village. He maintained the Auspitzes’ tradition of overstuffed sandwiches. For years, Famous was an Election Day Democratic politicos’ hangout, though the tradition has waned of late.

“I’ve always tried to make the store about the food,” said Cowan, who will work with Gamble and Steinman during a month’s transition.

Gamble said one of his restaurant brands, Butchers and Bakers, is “somewhat similar to aspects of Famous, in that we cut our all our own meats in-house, and we bake our own breads and pastries in house.” Though the Locals 8 Group′s 10 restaurants are in New England, the company also operated in Washington, D.C., and Virginia before the pandemic. Its culinary director, Zach Shuman, grew up in the deli business, Gamble said.

“Just the smoothness of the operation, as a customer, is what originally attracted me,” Gamble said.

“This is an iconic brand. Then when I got to meet Russ, we just started talking and the more we talked, the more we realized we’re both food people and have a very aligned vision around food, customer service, and our employees.”

Gamble said he is loath to change anything at the outset. “There’s just a lot to understand,” he said. “The immediate opportunity I see is to try to expand catering.”

Some employees will join Cowan in Cherry Hill, including Michael Williams, who has waited tables at Famous for 40 years. “Most of the people that I started serving here, I’ve waited on their children, their grandchildren, and some of their great-grandchildren,” Williams said. “It’s like family, you know? But right now, it’s time for change. I’m 60 years old. It’s time to move on.”