Samuel Brummer died Sunday at age 93.
NEWARK -- Officials, family members, friends, and diners are saying goodbye Tuesday to a longtime city business owner who locals are calling a "legend."
Samuel Brummer, the owner of Hobby's Deli in Newark since 1962, died Sunday. A funeral for the 93-year-old will be held at the Temple Sholom of West Essex in Cedar Grove at 11:30 a.m.
Brummer's two sons, who now operate Hobby's, were not the only locals who said Sam will be greatly missed.
"For over (50) years, Samuel Brummer was a daily presence at Hobby's Deli, the landmark restaurant where generations of patrons savored the good food and welcoming atmosphere that he cultivated," Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo, who in 2006 presented Brummer with a Broze Star for his military service during WWII, said in a statement to NJ Advance Media.
"With his passing, the City of Newark and Essex County lost a part of our history."
MORE: Newark icon Samuel Brummer dies at 93
Many deli customers took to social media to express their grief, and send condolences to the family behind the famous eatery.
Condolences to the entire Brummer and Hobby's family. Great man. WWII, D-Day vet. https://t.co/CX1MJoe1vQ
-- Tom Gulitti (@TGfireandice) November 16, 2015
RIP Samuel Brummer | 1922-2015 115th Infantry Regiment, 29th (US) Infantry Division Omaha Beach #DDay #DDayOverlord pic.twitter.com/E7W2PI72mN
-- DDay-Overlord (@ddayoverlordweb) November 16, 2015
Grieved to read this. I'd known Sam since the early '70s. He was that rarest of the breed -- a good, kind and... https://t.co/AswJpYbCrS
-- Michael Redmond (@RedmondMichael) November 16, 2015
Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura said in an interview with NJ Advance Media that he was a longtime friend of the Brummer family, and a frequent customer at Hobby's, which he called, "the best deli in all of New Jersey."
Fontoura, he said, was a beat cop during the 1967 riots in Newark, which happened just a few years after Sam Brummer and his wife, Rona, took over the deli.
"A lot of businesses left (after that), but he never did," Fontoura said. "He never even thought about it. He loved this city...Sam was a legend here."
Though Brummer's son Michael said Monday that he opened the deli because that's what his dad would have wanted, Hobby's announced via social media that it would be closed Tuesday so family and employees could attend the funeral.
Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.