Murray Klein, the public face of Zabar’s whose marketing savvy transformed the Jewish delicatessen into an international food emporium and foodie haven, has died. He was 84.

Klein died of lung cancer yesterday, a manager who had worked with him for decades at the Upper West Side store, Sandra Serrano, said today.

As part owner with the Zabar family, Klein oversaw the store’s merchandising, pricing, and publicity for more than 30 years.

His trademark was selling high-end gourmet food, often imported from Europe, while still offering such Jewish staples as chopped liver, babkas, and borscht.

The store attracted hordes of customers by selling selected fancy food items at steep discounts and by packaging high-quality staples like coffee beans and preserves under Zabar’s own private label.

Klein was also instrumental in developing Zabar’s housewares department, hanging baskets, and kitchen gadgets from the ceiling of the store at Broadway and 80th Street.

Klein, who began his career at Zabar’s as a stockman in 1953, was a constant presence on its sawdust covered floor.

“If I walk out onto Zabar’s floor and I can see my shoes, it’s not busy enough,” he was known to say.

An immigrant from the former Soviet Union, Klein retired from the store in 1994.