The New York deli credited with popularizing cheesecake in the 1920s is Lindy’s.
Lindy’s was founded by Leo “Lindy” Lindemann and his wife, Clara, in Manhattan in 1921. The restaurant became a celebrated Broadway-area gathering place, attracting actors, gamblers, writers, and entertainers. Its cheesecake became one of the deli’s defining specialties and was widely described as among America’s most famous.
Lindy’s helped establish the cultural image of New York cheesecake: rich, dense, cream-cheese-based, and associated with Jewish delicatessen cuisine. Its fame spread through newspaper coverage, celebrity visits, and popular culture. The restaurant’s cheesecake was even celebrated in Guys and Dolls, where the fictionalized “Mindy’s” is praised.
Junior’s is another famous New York cheesecake name, but it opened later, in 1950. Reuben’s also has an important place in cheesecake history and is associated with cream-cheese cheesecake in the late 1920s. Still, for the deli credited with popularizing cheesecake during the 1920s, Lindy’s is the conventional answer.