Shelley Lev Wiseman Kelly told her daughter, “It’s a gift to know how to cook.” Few dishes Kelly made compared to the brisket she sold at Edmart, her Pikesville deli. Its fans included Charm City Cakes founder Duff Goldman, who called it “perfect” in an episode of the Food Network’s “Best Thing I Ever Ate.”

On the show, Goldman and a cook reveal the recipe: Start with a fatty, kosher, top-cut brisket. Season with coarse kosher salt, black pepper, paprika and garlic powder. Add water, and cook the meat at 450 degrees for 2 1/2 hours.

“You can give out any recipe to anybody,” said Rachael Colasante, Kelly’s daughter. “But it’s because it was my mother making it, that’s why it tasted so good.”

Kelly, the longtime Edmart owner and operator, died Sept. 25 after battling dementia. She was 73.

Kelly, née Lev, was born into Jewish deli history in 1951. Her grandfather had co-owned Sussman’s & Lev on East Baltimore Street while her father, Martin Lev, opened Edmart in 1958 on the 1400 block of Reisterstown Road.

Edmart offered the flavors of a downtown deli to the city’s Jewish population as it migrated to the suburbs after World War II. Martin started the eatery with a partner, Eddie Stern — the business was a play on both their names — but later ran it solo.

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Colasante recalled how her grandparents’ home was filled with delicious aromas during the holidays. “My grandparents were the backbone of our family,” she said. “My grandfather taught my mother and me about what is good food and what is good Jewish food.”

A graduate of Pikesville High School, Kelly studied education at the University of Maryland, College Park, with plans to become a teacher. But she filled in at Edmart one day when her father was short-staffed and “she had so much fun,” Colasante said.

Edmart “wasn’t just a place to pick up food,” said Kelly’s daughter. “It was a place to pick up love and a place to pick up good news.” Customers included notable figures such as Oprah Winfrey, who came to the store for bagels when she lived in Baltimore.

Edmart’s motto was “the biggest little deli in Pikesville,” recalled former employee Steve Gordon, pointing to an ad that ran in the Jewish Times. “It had a great reputation.” The place only had two tables, and mostly operated as a carryout. “It was the place to be.”

Kelly took over Edmart when her father died in 2008, adding her own special touches, like more sweets. “She always gave you something sweet when you left the store,” Colasante said, and typically snuck in an extra dessert to customers who placed delivery orders. While she loved to eat, Kelly kept a trim figure from staying “constantly in motion” at the store.

“People loved Shelley,” Gordon said. “She was warmhearted, she was always giving people candy or cookies. It was a joy to work there.”

But she always found time for her family, including her daughter, Colasante, and son, Charles Lev Wiseman, as well as three grandchildren. “She was an incredible bubbe,” Colasante said. Kelly’s first husband, Michael Wiseman, died in 2004 of a heart attack, according to Jmore. She is survived by her husband, David Kelly, and a sister, Judy Schlossberg.

Whether Edmart customers were mourning a death in the family or preparing for an upcoming Ravens game, Kelly knew how to talk to people. When customers called to place an order for shiva trays, “she would know how to take care of that person,” Colasante said. “She was very good about saying, ‘I remember they loved bagels and lox … I remember so-and-so was gluten-free, so-and-so really loved dark chocolate.’” In the midst of their grief, the person on the other end of the phone would smile.

“She loved taking care of the store and taking care of the community through food,” her daughter noted. “That was her way of showing love.”

The store closed in 2019, taking with it a piece of Baltimore’s history. Kelly “offered so much comfort and love, no matter what the person was going through,” Colasante said. “She lived right along with her customers.”