PHOTO: Dream Deli proprietors Jessie Levine and John Bissell at the deli on Southeast Division Street. (Christine Dong for Dream Deli)

Jessie Levine and John Bissell have had a dream for most of their relationship – a dream that has now come true in Southeast Portland.

The aptly-named Dream Deli is not just their dream – but a reawakening of Portland’s deli tradition. This dream is a merger of two culinary traditions – Levine’s Jewish background and Bissell’s Italian heritage – each of which is well known for its deli-counter cultural expressions.

“For us, this was about really taking different elements of delis, both on the Italian side and the Jewish side, and then just making our dream version of it,” Levine explained, “which is a place that uses and exemplifies ingredients made and grown by local people who care about what they’re doing.”

Bissell’s culinary career has taken him through multiple destinations and styles, from overnight deli cook to fine-dining chef, culminating in a stint as Executive Chef of Portland Italian landmark Ava Genes, just down the block from his Dream (pun intended) on Southeast Division Street. Levine has also worked in restaurants but has truly made her mark as a food writer and restaurant promoter. Now the Dream she is selling (pun once-again intended) is her own.

“It feels really good to be in the deli, day in and day out, and meeting our neighbors and building relationships and building community,” she said.

Levine grew up with limited access to Jewish community in the Santa Ynez Valley of Southern California – her mother, who converted when Levine was young, and a handful of other families assembled what she called an “ad hoc Hebrew school” that enabled Levine to prepare for and celebrate her bat mitzvah.

“As an adult,” Levine said, “I really relate to secular Judaism and aspects of Judaism on the cultural side, and I’m very, very proud of that heritage.”

Bissell, meanwhile, has had a much steeper learning curve.

“I hadn’t made a matzo ball in my life until about six months ago,” he said. “Now, I have made thousands upon thousands.”

Those thousands of matzo balls have had a starring role in one of Dream Deli’s signature dishes, “Jewish Wedding Soup.”

“It’s a marriage of a matzo ball soup and Italian wedding soup,” Levine said. “It has Italian-style pork meatballs, matzah balls, small, cooked veggies and it’s so delicious. It really is a beautiful mash up of cultures.”

For those interested in a more kosher-style dining experience, Levine explained that the meatballs are held separately from the soup and can be omitted upon request for those seeking a more traditional matzo ball soup.

From the soup to the corned beef to the whitefish salad and all the bread, everything is made in house. The beef is sourced from Revel Meats and is all from within 40 miles of Portland while the fish in the whitefish salad is wild-caught sable, also known as black cod, from Oregon coastal waters.

“We get the whole fish, butcher it ourselves and lightly cure it before poaching it,” Bissell said. “As opposed to  a mashed up tuna salad, we try and preserve the integrity of that whole fish and leave some big flakes in there, but still toss it with some traditional ingredients and a little bit of onion, salted capers, aioli and as much herbs as we can fit in there.”

Naturally, there are knishes – traditional options like potato, more out-there ideas like a Reuben knish with a Swiss cheese sauce and mustard atop sauerkraut and corned beef, and truly radical renderings like a smoked cheddar, potato, ham and kimchi (spicy Korean pickled cabbage) knish. There are also soft pretzels, cookies (with schmaltz [chicken fat] subbed in for shortening) and fruit rugelach.

“I’ve had a lot of fun kind of exploring the baked goods of Jewish delis,” Bissell said. “I don’t have a huge background with them, so when making our knishes, it was a little bit more of an idea of what I think that I would want them to be, because I don’t have as much experience.”

Customers seem to share those thoughts – the deli has been doing brisk business since its opening in late November of 2025.

“It feels really meaningful to be here and meet the community,” Levine said.

Dream Deli is open 11am-3 pm Tuesdays through Saturdays. Learn more at dreamdelipdx.com.