The Stage Deli was a New York institution known for its massive sandwiches named after celebrities but closed its doors in 2012 after 75 years of business, citing rising rents and a downturn in business.

Founded in 1937, the Seventh Avenue establishment had a long-running and mostly good-natured rivalry with its competitor The Carnegie Deli, which had also opened in the same year and was located nearby.

Both delis battled for business for decades in a contest that became known as Manhattan’s ‘pastrami wars.’

The colorful menu cover was created by revered Chinese-American artist Dong Kingman (1911-2000). Born in Oakland, California, the son of immigrants from Hong Kong, he was one of America’s leading watercolorists, known for urban and landscape paintings and graphic design work.

An illustrator in Hollywood, some 300 of his film-related works are permanently housed at the Fairbanks Center for Motion Picture Study at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, California.

The 28 Stage Specialties sandwiches were named after celebrities. Number 8 was the Muhammad Ali, a triple decker of corned beef, pastrami, chopped liver and Bermuda onion. The Dolly Parton was number 26 and consisted of corned beef and pastrami on twin rolls, with coleslaw and Russian dressing and the Donald Trump Power Special was at number 28 and featured smoked nova scotia salmon, cream cheese, sliced onion, lettuce and tomato on a bagel.

The closure of the Stage Deli, an important part of NYC's restaurant history, is still mourned by former customers to this day.