Berk has worked at Zabar's for the past 26 years since retiring from his accounting job, but was put on leave for the past year after New York entered a COVID-19 lockdown last March.
“I thought, ‘It’s my life’ – part of me wanted to make my own decision. I might very well have wanted to take the gamble and work,” Berk told the Post. “Work and Zabar’s are very important to me.”
“At my age, you don’t know what’s going to happen,” added Berk. "I’m 91 – you never know how things are going to go."
The deli veteran was able to visit the store a few times as a customer during the past year, but couldn't wait to get back behind the counter.
“It was bittersweet,” said Berk. “I was almost an institution there. I was told by the manager that people were constantly asking for me over the past year.”
Berk, who makes $18 an hour on the job, stressed that he doesn't do it for the money.
“I did it to have something to do. I felt like it was necessary as a human being to contribute to society," Berk told the Post. “Sure, I made more money then, but I never had this much fun.”
The deli worker is a bit of a legend when it comes to slicing smoked salmon, telling the newspaper that "you have to become one with the fish."
“I found that slicing salmon is a very sensual experience,” he added. “I slide my hands across the oily surface of the fish, and it’s so soothing and relaxing – it’s a very pleasant feeling.”
“People come to me repeatedly,” said Berk. “Some people say that I’m their lox slicer and they’ll always come to me, even if they have to wait extra time.”
Berk's specialty is slicing the salmon extra thin. “Thin is the thing," he told the Post. "People go berserk if it’s not thin enough. They want it thinner than anyone can do.”
Zabar's has served New Yorkers since 1934, with three generations of the family running the shop.