A comic with chutzpah: He opens a Montreal-style deli in B.C.
In the end, acclaimed Montreal TV producer, writer and comedian Howard Busgang felt compelled to give up the “meat market” that is Hollywood. So Busgang and family bolted for the tranquility of Salt Spring Island, B.C. — and into another meat market.
For reasons that defy logic, Busgang decided that Salt Spring Island, a 35-minute ferry-ride from Victoria, was in need of a Montreal-style deli, “even though there are more bears than Jews” on the island.
So with little fanfare and absolutely no restaurant experience, the 59-year-old Busgang opened Buzzy’s Luncheonette — a reference to his Buzzy nickname — two months ago. And, surprise, Buzzy’s can barely keep up with demand. Its Old School smokedmeat sandwich — similar to that served in Montreal — is a hit. So, too, are its not-so subtly named Hungry Jew — smoked meat with potato latkes and a “shpritz” of horseradish — and the Rabinowitz, Buzzy’s take on the traditional Reuben sandwich.
Reviews have been glowing. The Narcity online review trumpeted: “This smoked-meat sandwich on Salt Spring Island will actually change your life … it melts in your mouth before you can even chew.”
“It’s been like a religious experience of sorts,” Busgang says. “But I’m sorry to tell Montrealers that we don’t deliver east of Winnipeg and we don’t carry karnatzels (Jewish sausage sticks), either. Otherwise, torch-bearing mobs with pitchforks would come and drive me into the harbour.”
Clearly, Busgang — who, in fact, doesn’t deliver off the island — hasn’t lost his sense of humour. In fact, Buzzy’s walls are covered with an array of one-liners from some of his favourite comedians.
Busgang discovered Salt Spring Island on a vacation from Hollywood a few years ago. He and his family moved there permanently last year.
“They call this place the Jamaica of Canada — and for good reason,” Busgang says. “It’s this crazy, eclectic artist community that has obviously been hankering, without knowing it, for deli. This is one of these mythical places that if you build a deli, they will come.
“It’s been insane since we opened Buzzy’s. None of this makes any sense. I sell out every day. And this is the real crazy part: I actually make my own smoked meat and I can’t make enough of it. This started in Los Angeles, where I couldn’t get a Montreal-style sandwich, so I started making my own.”
Busgang does take the making of the smoked meat seriously. He cures it for eight to 10 days in the shop, then he smokes it for eight to 10 hours, and finally he steams it for three hours.
“There are no shortcuts when it comes to making perfect smoked meat — that would be sacrilegious,” notes Busgang, who also does the slicing and preparing behind the counter. “The hardest part, though, is finding Montreal-style rye bread. Bakers want to sell me sourdough bread instead. Oy! My ancestors would roll over in their graves.”
No doubt, Busgang also keeps customers amused. In the 1980s and ’90s, he was a comic force to be reckoned with on the Canadian standup scene. He was also the head Just for Laughs gala-writer for a spell and is responsible for one of the fest’s most hilarious and memorable sketches: William Shatner’s “I Am Canadian” speech.
Busgang went on to produce and create the Gemini Awardwinning sitcom The Tournament — which aired in Canada and the U.S. — about obsessive hockey parents in deepest, darkest Don Cherry-ville, Ontario. Among his dozens of other credits are such TV series as Boy Meets World, Good Advice and Switchback.
“I had a great 15-year career
— in 29 years in Hollywood,” Busgang cracks. “So opening a deli was about taking control of our lives. We felt powerless in Los Angeles. I’d write a script and wait for other people to decide if I had talent. That’s the deal you make.
“But at a certain point you don’t have time to wait anymore. You have to land that plane eventually. So my wife, Melanie, and I decided to take the power back, move to a beautiful island in the Pacific and make smoked meat.”
Busgang has no regrets. “Hearing strangers come in to the deli and order two Hungry Jews and a Rabinowitz is worth all the work. If I were on a show and wrote our menu for a scene, they wouldn’t have allowed me to do it. I can see the notes I would have gotten: ‘Please change the Hungry Jew to something less offensive. We suggest the Starving Semite.’
“It’s been an incredible experience. Our 10-year-old daughter Hannah shakes down people at the cash and Melanie works the room like it’s The Copacabana. As for me, I’m no longer as needy — just sweaty and meaty.”
Hmm … sounds like the makings of a classic sitcom.