A 100-year tradition has died out. We can no longer buy bread in the legendary delicatessen

I felt the urge to visit a famous deli nearby and treat my taste buds to something I couldn’t pass up. In the center of Prague, I headed to Jungmannovi street. Before entering the Zlatý kříž delicatessen, I was unexpectedly stopped by the locked entrance, cleared interior spaces and window displays covered with plastic sheets. A sad sight of the sad end of a famous delicatessen with a century-old tradition. I let my appetite go, fought back a tear, and wondered the whole way home what made the owners close this place.

The story of the popular Czech jewel began to be written at the beginning of the 20th century. At that time, the musician and painter Jan rytíř Skramlík asked his friend, the famous connoisseur Jan Paukert, for something good that would be good for at least “two or three bites”. The size of neither the canapé nor the coated bread suited him, but Paukert’s product fulfilled the task perfectly (note: at that time, the sandwich was smaller than the current one). Skramlík’s successful tasting brought a desired novelty to the counters of not only Paukert’s delicatessen.

The famous Paukert’s delicatessen on Prague’s Národní třída

Jan Paukert and his wife Štěpánka founded Paukert’s delicatessen in 1916. The famous establishment in the center of Prague on Národní třída offered not only excellent sandwiches, but also quality Czech sausages, French cheeses, goose and duck liver, wines, liqueurs and other Czech and foreign delicacies. The deli enjoyed the interest and popularity of the connoisseur public, supplying the table of Tomáš Garrigu Masaryk’s family and many well-known personalities of the First Republic, such as Hugo Haas, Lída Baarová or Jan Werich.

In 1952, the company was nationalized, and it was not until 1991 that the son of the founders, Jan Paukert Jr., got it back in restitution. His first steps in the premises of the newly acquired family heritage led to a pillar in which he and his father hid a collection of rare cognacs from the 19th century from the Nazis in 1938. The delicatessen underwent an extensive renovation and reopened under the name Paukert in October 2008. Unfortunately, in 2015, operations ceased. The name Paukert was then still carried by a small bistro on the Karlin embankment, which operated until 2022.

Deli at Lippert in Prague on Příkopy

On March 29, 1892, in Prague’s Příkopy, the doors opened to goodies and delicacies that were not available anywhere until then. Lippert’s delicatessen was founded by Josef Lippert, a Sudeten German from Žatec, and in his business he offered, for example, sirloin tartar, goose liver with truffles, caviar, champagne, pasties and later also lobster sandwiches. High-end snacks were found here, which politicians, businessmen and actors in particular invited to buy. Vlasta Burian and his wife were, for example, regular customers.

After the war, the Lipperts, as Czechoslovak Germans, had to leave the republic and their property was forfeited to the state. Thus, in 1945, the famous Delicatessen at Lippert came to an end.

Today, even the Golden Cross is a thing of the past

Alois Zoufalý was the third of the three giants of the Czech delicatessen industry. He presented his art in his company at the beginning of the First Republic and focused on French delicacies. His assortment included frog legs, snails and, last but not least, sandwiches. In 1948, the company of the Desperate family was nationalized. The delicatessen, however, continued to operate and was named Zlatý kříž from then on.

Alois Zoufalé’s shop was originally located on the corner of Prague’s Jungmannovi Street and Jungmann Square, later it moved to smaller premises and deeper into the street, but within the same building, which became a cultural monument in 1931.

The Zlatý kříž delicatessen overcame bad times of war, nationalization, changes of owners, revolution and the covid period and operated for an incredible 100 years. As today’s generation remembers them, they offered various delicacies, sausages, chocolate boxes, alcohol, desserts, many salads, spreads and preferably more than seventy types of honest sandwiches with specific traditional flavors.

As recently as last December, the store was still operating, and its owner gave an interview about the uniqueness of the oldest store not only in Prague, the Czech Republic, Europe, but most likely in the world. She spoke about the careful and honest production of sandwiches not only with the employees’ own hands, but also with the heart. It also expressed the continuation of the founder’s traditions and the continuation of his great energy and will. This makes the final end of this place all the more incredible.

The Golden Cross closed its entrance for good. I still can’t believe that I won’t take the handle of a door decorated with a golden cross, enter a store full of tempting goodies and buy my favorite sandwich. It tasted unmistakable.

What will happen behind the shop window of this space? Perhaps another from the chain of expensive cafes, fast food or minimarkets, which are equipped with countless historical streets of Prague. Will they put wagons of jelly candies here, open a wax museum or start selling cheesy souvenirs here?

We don’t lose sandwiches

With the closure of the Golden Cross, the sandwich remains and we can taste it in traditional and non-traditional variations in various places.

I recently visited a bistro in Spálená Street on a recommendation. Beautifully decorated sandwiches winked at me from the refrigerated display cases, and although the prices climbed to 50 crowns (the lowest price for a sandwich here), I couldn’t resist and had three pieces packed with me. We tried the design pieces at home. The ham with egg had a less pronounced taste to me, the roast beef with horseradish impressed with its atypical combination, and the distinctive sandwich with spicy salami scored points for us. Nevertheless, we sat on our backs more because of the price than because of the gastronomic experience. I would classify these novel pieces as tempting, tasty, high-quality and interesting. The fresh and crispy lid, the modern look and the unconventional combination of ingredients stood out. And although I like to try new flavors, next time I’ll prefer a favorite classic for a sandwich.

We can also enjoy the classic sandwich in two well-known stores with branches in and around Prague. In the first case, these are shops with delicacies, in the second mainly with confectionery products. Well-known stores have their fans, because they definitely pay, a hundred people, a hundred tastes. However, I am not one of them, so I will look for my favorite elsewhere.

Make your own sandwich

Each household can make a homemade sandwich according to its own ideas, habits and tastes, using homemade spreads, homemade potato salad, high-quality homemade ingredients, and this creates an original piece, but not just one, because from one layer it can be prepared according to the size of up to two trays. We will raise this delicacy to a new level with our own hands.

Since I don’t prepare homemade sandwiches very often, mainly for visits or for celebrations, I like to treat myself to a tasty purchased piece once in a while. I look forward to finding such a satisfying replacement that I don’t have to worry about the favorite ham and half egg on potato salad from the Golden Cross. However, what will not be replaced is the lost historical tradition and the name of a famous delicatessen in the center of Prague.

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