DES MOINES, Iowa- For 22 years Maccabees Deli has served kosher food to people in the Des Moines area. Never in that time has the business seen the number of customers it has seen in the past few days.

Back a week and a half ago a woman named Sarah Booz visited Maccabees. She is a Jewish woman from New York City, who was surprised to find a taste of her hometown, here in Des Moines.

“I found a New Yorker-owned Jewish deli in Des Moines, and I am so happy!” said Booz. “It’s run by a rabbi from Crown Heights Brooklyn, who immediately clocked me as both not from Iowa, and vaguely Jewish.”

The post has snagged 290,000 views so far. Sarah said in a text that comments have been mostly positive, and that some want her to review other restaurants in town.

“We never met her before she came in here, but we never knew her before,” said Rabbi Yossi Jacobsen, of Maccabees Deli. “We never thought this would ever happen.” 

The deli originally opened as a service, but grew into a full-time restaurant.

“Twenty-two years of service this community with kosher and we’re honored that we could continue to doing it with such a commitment from the community,” said Jacobsen.

Check out Sarah’s TikTok post on Maccabees here.