Governor candidate stumps at Dubrow's

Well, it's been a long time since I updated this blog. I still have a couple New York Times articles left to post, but I finally made it to the Brookline Public Library, where I was able to track down a couple original copies on microfiche. The online New York Times archive wouldn't let me move the images in some of the articles, so I couldn't put them into a usable format to share here.

This one is of Hugh Carey, in front of the Manhattan Dubrow's. He was a Representative and a Democratic candidate for governor in 1974. The other photo is of another Democratic candidate (Howard J. Samuels) in Brooklyn. Excerpted from the accompanying article by Frank Lynn:

"Mr. Carey, for his garment center rally in front of Dubrow's Cafeteria at Seventh Avenue and 38th Street, had such leading Democrats as former governor Averell Harriman, former mayor Robert F. Wagner, and Mrs. Edith Lehman, widow of the Senator. Mr. Carey noted that Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, and Kennedy had spoken on the same site as candidates."
(New York Times, September 6, 1974)

But the title of the article is "Rivals for Governor Get Small Crowds" - apparently both candidates attracted very small limited numbers, and several people who did participate apparently did so negatively - they chastised Samuels for not allegedly not having paid his taxes. Hugh Carey won the Democratic candidacy and the election and went on to serve as governor from 1975 to 1982.

Anyone know more about Carey's statement about former presidents Roosevelt and Truman speaking in front of Dubrow's? I had only heard people recall seeing Kennedy in front of Dubrow's.

Recycling chairs

I know some Dubrow's items wound up on Ebay.

Apparently others were recycled into other restaurants. This comes from a 1988 article entitled "French bistros take all-American turn" by Joe Edwards.

"Like Restaurant Florent, the restaurant will be unpretentious and offer a good value, according to Morellet, who noted that dinner entrees would be priced from $7.75 to $13.50. But the decor is fancier--what Morellet called "high-style 1950s--a mix of contemporary and postmodern. Furniture includes the original cast aluminum chairs from the old Dubrow's Cafeteria, which closed several years ago."

(Nation's Restaurant News, Feb 8, 1988)

First jobs

Apparently, the children's author Bruce Farrington Coville worked at Dubrow's. According to this autobiography, his first job upon moving to New York City from Phoenix, NY was bussing tables at Dubrow's.

He doesn't say much more about what he thought about the job, but he has some interesting things to say about what it took to find a job in general in those days:

"I headed for New York City, figuring that since it was summer it would be off season for a tropical paradise and I would have no problem buying an airplane ticket to the islands. Wrong! As it turned out, I couldn't get a reservation for two weeks, though the airlines told me I could check on standby every day. (What I had really wanted to do was work my way down on a boat. But I got laughed at down at the docks, where they told me I'd have to join the union and unless I had a relative who was already a member, the waiting list was years long.)

Two strikes, and an important lesson for a writer: do your research! Having no intention of going home at this point, I was stranded in Manhattan. I went to the YMCA, where I got the cheapest room I could. In the lobby was a table where you could sign up for temporary work, and I took advantage of it, not wanting to draw down my little bankroll any more than necessary. I ended up washing dishes in a seafood restaurant, where I scrubbed away grease that seemed to have accumulated for years. They must have thought I did a good job because they gave me a fabulous meal in addition to my pay. The next night I got a job bussing tables at Dubrow's cafeteria in Brooklyn."

Still here...

It's been 2 months since I posted. Ugh. Life has sort of taken over. April and May were rough months - some family energencies and losses. But we're OK now.

I still have 1-2 more articles I downloaded from the New York Times archives, and this summer one of my projects is going to be to go to the public library and comb through the microfiche files to find some of the articles that downloaded incompletely. Plus, there's a couple longlost family members I need to sit down and write, so I can get more oral history testimonies.

Meanwhile, Marcia Bricker, whose fabulous photos have been featured here on this blog, tells me that she is in discussions about a documentary about Dubrow's. How cool would THAT be.

Another Dubrow's review

I'm going to have to get to the library soon and check out some of the articles I downloaded from the New York Times archives in microfiche form. There seems to be a problem with some of the images, so I can't upload them all. I'm not sure if it's a copyright issue or a quality issue. But meanwhile, I found another review of Dubrow's, this one by Mimi Sheraton:

"Dubrow's Cafeteria, 515 Seventh Avenue near 38th Street (221-6777), is a classic, with larger-than-life dairy dishes, delicatessen sandwiches and steam-table food more or less Jewish - East European in style. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner prices are moderate. The best bets are the egg dishes, cold plates, sandwiches, and the vegetables with pot cheese and sour cream. Closed Sunday." (New York Times, August 8, 1980)

King's Highway ticket

This is another photo by the always amazing Marcia Bricker.

She writes:
"You took a ticket when you entered the restaurant on Kings Highway. There was a great ticket machine with a guy that handed you the ticket. Whenever you went up to the counter they punched the ticket with the amount you spent. If they punched $1.25 for a sandwich and later you went back for coffee, 25 cents and a danish, 60 cents - they
added on those amounts. Then Roz at the door added up your punches for your total bill. The maximum on this ticket was 3.40. If you used that up, rare in those days, you went and got a second ticket - I don't remember how they knew you had two tickets. Katz's deli uses a similar system - the last time I was there was last year."

Also, she is currently in conversation with some contacts she has about the possiblity of making a documentary about Dubrow's. How cool would that be? I am hoping this will spur me on to try and track down a couple relatives who knew Dubrow's well but with whom I am not regularly in touch, so I can do some more oral history.

Restaurant review

Found this in the Village Voice's NYC Guide:

"Diamond Dairy Restaurant, 4 W 47th St, New York, NY 10036, West Side
Phone: (212) 719-2694, Price: $
Jewish, 42nd to 59th, Restaurants - General, Restaurants

Dramatically poised on a balcony above the National Jewelers Exchange, this old-fashioned Ashkenazic Jewish dairy restaurant features the usual dishes including blintzes, puddings, and rivers of sour cream. Baked fish is a particular specialty, but even better is cholent, a garlicky bean stew. All hail the orange kugel floating on top! Enjoy watching the jewelry transactions down below as you dine, and go as soon as possible, before this New York institution goes the way of Dubrow's and Hammer's."

It sounds like it's a throwback to Dubrow's. I'll have to check it out next time I'm in NYC.

Dubrow family

This is a photo of the family of Benjamin Dubrow. The smallest child is Ruthie Dubow, which dates this photo to just a year or two after her birth. She is sitting on Benjamin's lap, and beside them is Sylvia, the next youngest. Sylvia went on to marry Irving Kaplan, my grandfather and an eventual manager and part owner of Dubrow's. Beside her is Rose Dubrow, Benjamin's wife. In the back row we have Lila, who would become the mother of Joe and Robert, who have both made appearances on this blog in comments and in the oral history I took last Passover. Beside Lila is George, Benjamin's only son. He was a manager of Dubrow's until his tragic early death, and also the father of Irwin Dubrow, who was also a manager of Dubrow's. Finally, the woman beside George is Minnie, who went on to marry Max Tobin. Both Max Tobin and his son, Paul Tobin, went on to be managers of Dubrow's.

Seymour Gruber

Happy Pesach to everyone! I'm back down in Miami with my family, and got this little story from my cousin Steven Gruber. He recalled that his father, Seymour Gruber, was working as a young pediatrician in Brooklyn, and would make a lot of house calls. Of course, after inviting him into their homes, they would invariably want to feed him, and not wanting to be rude...he'd accept. They would bring him out some cakes, and then silverware with which to eat it...which was often Dubrow's silverware, pilfered from the restaurants...

Seymour also met his wife, Ruthie, through Dubrow's. Or rather, through Dubson's, which was a more upscale, traditional restaurant the family started for a short run. Apparently Seymour would come in a lot, and Irving Kaplan, my grandfather, told him one day he had to meet his sister-in-law. He introduced them, and they wound up getting married. According to Steven, Irving would tell people he "fell in love with Seymour first" when describing Seymour and Ruthies's relatationship.

Comparing Dubrow's to Bagel Nosh

In 1976, the New York Times published an article entitled "You Can't Judge a Bagel By the Decor Around It" about the new chain of bagel shops called Bagel Nosh. This Manhattan chain was apparently very successful - it spread as far away as California, and several copycat franchises popped up. It does not appear that the current California and Arizona company by the same name is related - according to their website they started in 1993.

In general the article is about Bagel Nosh, and not unlike some of the glowing descriptive articles written about Dubrow's at different times, but what I find very interesting is that the owner of Bagel Nosh compares his restaurant to Dubrow's:

"'If you look in here and compare our crowd to the people you see next door at Dubrow's,' (Thomas) Quinn said by way of explaining his Seventh Avenue and 38th Street location, 'you'll notice we get the women and girls while they get the rackpushers and more traditional garment district types.' Women, in fact, outnumber men at lunch in that location by about six to one and, in general, exhibit a sort of career girl fashion awareness in dress." (New York Times, August 31, 1976)

Metropolitan Diary

That's title of what looks like an article in New York Magazine (November 22, 1976). It's written by Tom Buckley, and it's a piece about life in New York City. I find this quote about Dubrow's very interesting:

"The Governor, one of the landmarks of the Garment Center, closed last month...Well, you can still catch up on the gossip of the salesmen and the cutters at Dubrow's, on 38th and Seventh. Just tilt your chair up at an interesting table (that's your reservation) and go get your soup."

I didn't know about tilting your chair up. It's those little details I love to hear.

George Dubrow (1903-1956)

Found the list of obituaries offered for George Dubrow, who was manager of the Manhattan Dubrow's until his tragic, early death in a car accident:

"DUBROW - George. beloved husband of Fannie; devoted father of Irwin, Helene, and Leonard, loving son of Benjamin and Rose Dubrow; dear brother of Minnie Tobin, Lila Adler, Sylvia Kaplan, and Ruth Gruber. Services Wednesday, 1:30 PM, "The Riverside", Brooklyn, Ocean Parkway and Prospect Park. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Heart Fund or the Nephrosis Foundation.
DUBROW - George. Local 325 Cooks, Countermen, Soda Dispensers, Food Checkers Cashiers, and Assistants Union, its officers and members, mourn the loss of George Dubrow, employer of our members. A person of deep integrity, gracious charity, and liberal intent, his will be an enduring monument in the history of man's humanity to man. We express our sincere sympathy to the bereaved members of his family. May his soul rest in peace.
HARRY DALLES. President
ABE SILVERSTEIN. Secretary-Treas.
DUBROW - George. The Utica Parkway Street John Merchant's Association extends its heartfelt condolences to the Dubrow family. The good name of George Dubrow will long be remembered by his fellow merchants and the community.
BERNARD KESSNER, President.
DUBROW - George. The employes of Dubrow's Cafeteria mourn with deep sorrow the sudden and untimely passing of their beloved employer and friend, and extend to his bereaved family their sincere and heartfelt sympathy.
DUBROW - George. The Board of Trustees of Beth-El Hospital notes with sorrow the sudden passing of our dear friend and benefactor. Our sincere condolences to his bereaved family.
BENNE KATZ, President.
DUBROW - George. The Officers and Directors of the Chronic Disease Hospital note with deep regret the passing of George Dubrow. Heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family.
ISAAC ALBERT, President.
DUBROW - George. Temple Beth-El, Rockaway Park, sorrowfully announces the passing of its devoted member. Members please attend services.
JAMES J. WOLFSON, President.
DR. NATHAN KAPLAN, Secretary."

It is an indicator of how important George was to the community that his obituary was the only one with multiple listings.

Richard Peck quote

Author Richard Peck wrote an article for the New York Times about Brooklyn, and Dubrow's gets a mention:

"If Flatbush has a southern frontier, it is King's Highway. The commerce along Flatbush Avenue is beginning to go to seed, but King's Highway is a vital retail area. There is the London Fruit Market and the 1940's glamour of Dubrow's Cafeteria. There is Perlson's for men's wear, featuring pearl-buttoned denim for Brooklyn cowboys."
(New York Times, April 29,1973)

The end of the article mentions his book Dreamland Lake, which may relate in someway to the article, which is a nostalgic/historical piece. But it is one of a series of articles that document the changes beginning to take place in Brooklyn, of which Dubrow's was a part.

Sandy Koufax at Dubrow's

Excerpted from The Dodgers: 12 Years of Dodgers Baseball by Glenn Stout:

"Sophomore year, Koufax returned to Cinncinnati with a $20,000 Dodger offer and a dilemma. "He wanted to know what I thought, because, you know, Jews don't do that," Rothenberg remembered. I said, "Sandy, if these guys think you're that good that they're offering you that kind of money, take it. You can always go back to college." That was the last time I talked to him. Then he was just gone.

The day he signed with the home team, Marv Raab saw him standing outside Dubrow's Cafeteria in Brooklyn, a lanky kid in a Lafayette sweatshirt, telling the world, "I just signed with the Dodgers!" He seemed as surprised as everyone else."

The same quote from Marv Raab is also excerpted in Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy by Jane Leavy, though I'm not sure which book came out first.

Leo Martin in the news again

Very interesting. A year later, Leo Martin shows up in the New York Times again, but this time with the headline: "Four Food Dealers Held as Bribers."

"Operators of a cafeteria and three bakeries were arrested yesterday on charges of offering bribes to health inspectors to avoid the notoriety of appearing on the "dirty restaurant list" that warns the public of health violations, according to the complaint." (New York Times, November 17, 1971)

Apparently, at four different restaurants, the owners offered between $10 and $50 to inspectors in order to avoid flunking their food inspections. The deputy commissioner at the time, David Dorsen, was quoted as saying that this is the first time charges have been pressed against anyone attempting to offer bribes, and the law making restaurants who don't pass inspection public went into effect in July of 1971. It sounds like this was a case of setting the standard for other restaurants - i.e. take this seriously, don't try and buy your way out of these new regulations.

What's interesting, though is that it goes on to mention that all the restaurants had previously come up with a clean inspection:

"Previously, the four businesses cited, including Dubrow's, the popular cafeteria in the garment district, had been given clean bills of health, with no ciolations (sic) cited by H.S.A inspectors, who are known as "sanitarians," Mr. Dorsen said....The four men arrested and charged with bribery and giving unlawful gratuities were identified as Leib Braunfeld, 52, of Gertel Bakery, 53 Hester Street, charged with a $10 bribe offered on November 3; Herb Geller, 26, of Original Royal Bakery, 237 West 72nd Street, charged with offering a $20 bribe on November 13; Leo Martin, 56, of Dubrow's Cafeteria, 515 Seventh Ave, charged with offering a $50 bribe on November 14; and Adolph Mersberg, of Mersberg Bakery, 64-00 Metropolitan Avenue, Queens, with the complaint listing a $10 bribe offered on October 25. " (Ibid.)

It was probably a pretty minor incident, in the grand scheme of things, but it does raise some questions - why would Dubrow's not pass that year, when previously it had? Is it just a coincidence that it comes a year after Leo Martin's big push for increased productivity, or did he sacrifice some standards to get there?

"Dubrow's is no ordinary cafeteria"

In this article, about a year after the death of Irwin Dubrow, we find out what happened to the Manhattan Dubrow's that Irwin ran for many years:

"Leo Martin got in an awful rut a while back. Like any other businessman in this inflationary era, his costs were galloping upward and his profitability - indeed the very existence of the cafeteria he operates at 515 Seventh Avenue and 38th Street - was threatened. This was no small matter to him because he not only operates Dubrow's cafeteria in the garment district, but since last October he has owned 30 percent. "Every time my costs went up, I would try and pass it on to the customer. Each time I raised my prices, I served fewer and fewer customers," he explained.

Business dropped from 5,500 customers a day to somewhere between 4,300 and 4,600 by the third week in May. We were starting to lose money for the first time since I took over full management last October on the death of the grandson of the founder," he said. "

(New York Times, October 26, 1971)

The article goes on to give us a good detail about Mr. Martin, as well as the history of the changes in owners and managers over the years:

"The other Dubrow cafeteria, at King's Highway and East 16th street, is owned by a relative of the founders. It's a separate business. Mr. Martin was no newcomer to the business. He began as an assistant manager in the Dubrow cafeteria on King's Highway in 1939. He had been general manager successively of three Dubrow cafeterias, the last one being the Seventh Avenue one. He left Dubrow's in 1959 to become general manager for the Arthur Maisel restaurants. When the Maisel restaurants liquidated, the Dubrows asked Mr. Martin to come back. That was in October, 1968, and he's been there ever since. " (Ibid.)

The article is not just a character piece about Leo Martin, however, as it goes on to try to understand the realities facing the cafeteria in New York City:

"Mr. Martin was not only in a restaurant where business was falling, he was in an industry that failed to adjust. At one time, there were perhaps 300 cafeterias in the city as big as the Dubrows Seventh Avenue one - it seats 450 - now there are 25 of them and many are in trouble.

"I realized the fact that the cafeterias had outpriced themselves and were not competitive with the average man's eating place, " Mr. Martin recounted. "Hamburger stands, pushcarts in the street, small coffee shops, and even some medium-priced restaurants were all outselling us."

It was easy for Mr. Martin to fall into the trap of raising prices. Dubrow's is no ordinary cafeteria. At dinner, a dessert cart serves the tables directly. The pastries on that cart art all produced on the premises. Dubrow's employs 11 bakers who make Vienna rolls, stangell, a salt stick, pletsl, a thin crisp roll garnished with on-" (Ibid.)

Here the article continues on another page that is apparently not included in the download. But it picks up shortly thereafter and explains how Leo Martin helped Dubrow's survive when other cafeterias were faltering:

"...Mr. Martin naturally expected to get good prices. Yet the fact remained that, while quality was high, the customers just weren't coming into the restaurant.

Of all things, New York City's extending of a 7 percent sales tax to meals below a dollar proved to be fortuitous. The customers resented it naturally, and this didn't help business. Mr. Martin, a 55-year-old slim man with wavy black hair and a mustache, knew he had to do something drastic to regain his business. It wouldn't be easy. The garment district, in which the restaurant was centered, had become more and more depressed...He decided to use one of the oldest gimmicks in merchandising - the loss leader. What's more, he tied it to the 7 percent "hot dog" tax, as the levy, which starts at 15 cents, has been called.

He explained: "We decided to absorb the 7 percent tax on a selected list of specials on which we reduced our prices substantially. For example, a hamburger and coffee at lunch, which used to bring $1.02 including the 7 percent tax, we now featured for 69 cents."

...This kind of special is enough to make any restaurant man apprehensive. Mr. Martin admits that, if his customers bought nothing else, the specials would put him out of business. It didn't work that way - about 25 percent of the customers are ordering specials - and it almost never does, he explained..."We have reacquainted old and new customers with Dubrow's and our tremendous selection of food. Consequently, we have people coming in daily who eat the special once a week or twice a week - but not all the time. The rest of the week, they buy regular items." (Ibid.)

Essentially, Dubrow's saved itself for another decade and a half, while other cafeterias were closing, by building on its strength - loyal customers.

"The reason production is so important to Dubrow's is that an establishment as big as this must have a large basic production crew. The solution was increase dollar volume without increasing the payroll. When the specials began on September 22, volume soared immediately, Mr. Martin said, adding: "We're now serving about a thousand customers a day more than we did before the loss leaders. Our average day - we're open 16 hours, until 10 PM, we serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner - brings in between 5,500 and 5,600 customers a day"..." (Ibid.)

Mr. Martin goes on to crunch the numbers - I presume this article was written for the business section of the New York Times, as it has a decidedly business feel. I also imagine that the publicity garnered from the article didn't hurt business, either, so that was a good business move as well. He also goes on to note that not all the employees were so happy about the changes, as for them, it meant more work and not any more money.

Irwin Dubrow

Among the articles about Dubrow's I found in the New York Times database, I also found Irwin Dubrow's obituary. In the copy available to download, it looks like part of the header has been cut off. It reads "Irwin Dubrow, 39, Dead;" and the presence of the semicolon indicates more text, as do the stray black marks found underneath. But mostly it's just white space, so I don't know what the rest of the header read.

The obituary goes on to report his death, with no mention of how he died:

"Mr. Dubrow headed Dubrow's, which operated a cafeteria at 515 Seventh Avenue, near 39th street, and another on 35th street off Seventh Avenue. He also operated Alfie's a bar and grill at Third Avenue and 74th Street, and a restaurant on King's Highway in Brooklyn.

He was a director of the Karen Horney Clinic and a director of Affiliated Restaurateurs, Inc.

He leaves his wife, the former Ann Tuck, two daughters, Joanne and Barbara, a sister, Mrs. Helene Grossman, and his mother, Mrs. Fannie Dubrow Rubin. "

(New York Times, October 6, 1970)

A little backstory: Irwin Dubrow, who was the grandson of Benjamin Dubrow, killed himself. I am guessing that that is what is in the rest of the headline, though I am not sure if it was intentionally blotted out. I know that Dubrow's was closed for a little while following his suicide, which is understandable since it was a family crisis, both personally and in terms of the business.

I did not, however, know that there was another cafeteria owned by the family in Manhattan, nor did I know how many different jobs Irwin was doing at once. Was the "other restaurant" on King's Highway actually Dubrow's? Or did the family own a different restaurant on King's Highway later on? And Karen Horney clinic? Does that mean he was a social worker on top of being a businessman? I know Joanne, his daughter, has chimed in on this blog at times, so perhaps she will add some of her thoughts. Also, Irwin left behind another brother, Leonard, who for unknown reasons is not mentioned in the obituary.

End of another New York cafeteria

Continuing the theme of understanding the demise of New York City's cafeterias, I found this article about the closing of another cafeteria, Garfield's, which was located at the corner of Flatbush and Church Avenues in Brooklyn. According to the article, it officially close on July 6, 1971, "after declining business had forced its demise."

The article goes on to reference the Dubrow's on Eastern Parkway:

"Garfield's, in its heyday, was known throughout Brooklyn, mentioned in the same breath with Dubrow's on Eastern Parkway and Utica Ave and Hoffman's on Pitkin and Saratoga Avenues, which are also gone."
(New York Times, July 25, 1971)

Foreshadowing the end of Dubrow's

I found an article by Murray Schumach in the New York Times that talks about the decline in New York's cafeterias. It was written in 1969 - which is interesting to note because it means problems started for the cafeteria business quite early on. It also means Dubrow's survived the decline for a decade and a half, much longer than others in the city. Schumach writes:

"Affluence has already cannibalized more than two-thirds of those mirrored citadels that became symbols of the city and transferred the tempo of the subway to the stomach." (New York Times, August 18, 1969)

He goes on to quote customers and the owners of the Governor Cafeteria and the Belmore Cafeteria before talking about Dubrow's:

"And at Dubrow's, an equally successful cafeteria at Seventh Ave and 38th Street, the owner, Irwin Dubrow, grandson of the founder of the business, says: "A cafeterial can't pass along increased prices and wages the way other eating places do. A couple years ago we raised our price of coffee from 10 cents to 15. We were only doing what everybody else was doing. But we lost 1,500 customers a day and we still haven't gotten them all back."" (Ibid.)

He goes on to reference two Hector's Cafeterias, Garfield's, Dixon's, the King's Highway Dubrow's, the 167th Street Cafeteria, and the Concord as other currently surviving but struggling cafeterias. He doesn't reference the Eastern Parkway Dubrow's - I don't know if this means it had closed by now, or what.

He also interviews a customer in the Manhattan Dubrow's later in the article, and mentions Leo Martin, who came up earlier on this blog because his obituary mentioned working at Dubrow's:

"One recent afternoon, in the Manhattan Dubrow's, Charles Abbott, a salesman, was asked as he sat squeezed at a table among two strangers, why he liked cafeterias. He replied, "You get out quick. The price is right. And with such an output, you never get a stale sandwich."

Leo Martin, an executive at the cafeteria, says that a study showed that during the lunch hour the average customer was out in 19 minutes. At The Governor, the calculations show that...each of the 426 seats is turned over seven times between noon and 2 PM." (Ibid)

What's interesting about this is that it contradicts some of what readers have shared about liking so much about Dubrow's - the ability to "plunk down a quarter for a cup of coffee and sit all day" as my great-aunt Marian said.

Dubrow's as a community center

I found two articles from the 1960's, both of which reference Dubrow's as a center of political and community life in Brooklyn. The first one is about the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association rallying the community to vote 'yes' to eliminate the Civilian Complaint Review Board, claiming that "the existence of the board prevents policemen from taking appropriate action to fight crime." (New York Times, October 24, 1966) Apparently the language of the ballot measure was sufficiently confusing, because the article goes on:

"A yes vote bars civilians from serving. Thus anyone favoring the present board must vote no to support it. This produced bewilderment. In front of Dubrow's Cafeteria on King's Highway at 16th street, a campaign worker spoke in a mixture of Yiddish and English in an effort to clarify things for an elderly man."

This campaign hit up all the stops in Brooklyn - the article goes on to say that they made stops at Trump Village shopping center in Brighton Beach and Nathan's Famous before coming to Dubrow's, and from Dubrow's they planned another stop at the Brighton Beach Baths. The article also references a politician named Lindsay and blames much of the current political issues on him.

Two years later, Lindsay, who it turns out was the mayor at the time, is also booed in front of Dubrow's:

"At King's Highway and East 16th street in Brooklyn, the crowd was so vehemently anti-Lindsay over the school strike that (Senator Jacob) Javitz, a master at soothing angry crowds, said several times that there was no point in continuing since he could not be heard, even with a microphone.

"The Mayor is in a tough spot - it may even be his own fault," the Senator told a crowd that including angry teachers and parents outside Dubrow's Cafeteria. But just as he is jeered today, he may be cheered tomorrow.""
(Tolchin, M. "Lindsay Backlash Confronts Javitz." New York Times, October 17, 1968)

Anyone remember these particular political events? The theme is consistent with memories people have shared earlier on this blog about the King's Highway Dubrow's being a popular place for politicians to stump.

Private Investors Start Parking Garage

This photo accompanied an article about plans to build a 400 car parking garage in the same block as the Dubrow's Cafeteria in Manhattan. If you look closely (resolution on the photo is not great) you can see the Dubrow's sign on both sides of the building. It touts the construction because "it will give Manhattan's West Side its first privately financed storage center since construction of the Radio City garage." (New York Times, January 7,1951) Those financers called themselves "515 Seventh Avenue Corporation" and are headed by Lawrence Mayer, David Harris, and Irving Karpas.

The Times article cuts off, so other then in the photo there's no explicit reference to Dubrow's. It would seem to me that this would have been in the very early years of the Manhattan Dubrow's - in fact, it might even be the initial plans for that location. I'm not sure.

Also, it would seem to me that this is a premonition of the demise of Dubrow's - after all, even though Dubrow's served the garment workers in Manhattan for many years, I suspect the 400 car garage was not built for them, and so the need for such a construction suggests that even as early as the 1950's the face of Manhattan was beginning to change.

Dubrow's robbed

$14,000 Taken In Hold-up

An apparently intoxicated man staggered up to the manager of crowded Dubrow's Cafeteria, 1521 King's Highway. Brooklyn at 12:45 o'clock this morning, took between $14,000 and $15,000, reeled out, and disappeared.

The victim was Max Tobin, 48 years old, manager and part owner of the restaurant, which is at East Sixteenth Street in the Sheepshead Bay section. He said 450 customers and 50 employes were unaware of the holdup in a balcony office.

Mr. Tobin said he noticed a man reeling along behind him as he went to a balcony but thought he was going to a washroom. However, Mr. Tobin said, as he unlocked the door to the office, the man bumped into him, knocked him inside, then produced a small black pistol and told the manager to sit down.

After taking the money from the safe to robber bound and gagged Mr. Tobin, said "So long" and left.

(New York Times, January 7, 1952)

How scary is that? The whole robbery took place while Max Tobin was isolated and helpless. No one was even aware of what happened and therefore couldn't try to intervene or call the police. Thank G-d the man didn't turn out to be more violent, or Max might have been killed or injured.

More property purchases

In the other 1942 article about Dubrow's in the New York Times, it's a notification of a property purchase in Brooklyn and Manhattan. I won't reprint the whole article here, but here's the line about Dubrow's:

"In Brooklyn, the blockfront adjoining Dubrow's Cafeteria at King's Highway and East Sixteenth Street, running to Avenue P, was purchased by the concern that owns the cafeteria through the David Jaret Company, broker."
(New York Times, August 11, 1942)

Again, I'm not sure why this block of property would have been purchased? Anyone know?

I asked my mom about the purchase of property in Woodmere, and she had no recollection of a Dubrow's opening up there. However, she mentioned that at one point family members expanded to open a more traditional restaurant called Dubson's. I wonder if that could have been the reason for that property purchase.

Union Settlement Comes in War Stamps

This is the oldest article about Dubrow's I found in the New York Times database. Among other things, it adds some details to my cousin Joe's story about Dubrow's being unionized. It also says a lot about the times that the union was willing to negotiate part of their pay raise to be in war bonds.

Unions Win Pay Rise; Part In War Stamps
(New York Times, February 14, 1942)

The national defense effort received impetus from a wage settlement negotiated yesterday between Local 325 of the Cooks, Countermen, and Soda Dispensers Union, A.F. of L. and Dubrow's Cafeteria, 1110 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn. The contract stipulated that 25 cents, or about 9 percent, of a $2.75 weekly increase should be paid by the company in war savings stamps.

The 25-cent stamps in the weekly pay envelopes of the sixty employes will yield the defense effort $780 annually. The increase was granted to the employers in addition to a forty-eight hour, six-day week, a closed shop, arbitration of grievances, and vacations with pay ranging from one week for employes in service for one year, and three days for employes in service six months or less.

After the new wage agreement had been signed for the company by Louis Shapiro, counsel, and for the union by Sidney Elliot Cohn, attorney, Irving Halpern, president of Local 325 disclosed that 3,000 members of the union had invested $7,000 of their treasury's funds in defense bonds and would double the amount as soon as it was convenient for officers to make the purchase.

When Local 325 opened negotiations for a new contract it asked for a weekly increase of $3 for its sixty members employed at Dubrow's Cafeteria. The company countered with an offer of $2, and a deadlock ensued.

The war savings stamp idea was put forward as a compromise, and both sides quickly reached an agreement.

A major correction

After spending much of last year collecting oral history from family members about Dubrow's, it appears I am entering a new phase of memorializing Dubrow's - the research phase.

I recently discovered that the New York Times has a database of archived articles going back to 1851. Many of these, it turns out, mention Dubrow's, so over the next few weeks I will be sorting through these articles and making sense of them. A few of them are incomplete in the online database, but I've got the references so I can trek out to the library to find the originals.

Let's start with a major correction: when Dubrow's Cafeteria actually began. I had always placed the beginning of Dubrow's as being in the 1950's, but now I think that may just be the Manhattan restaurant.

The following little blurb gives me new information, and also raises a few questions:

"Dubrow's Cafeteria chain has leased 6,000 square feet of store space in Irving Steinberg's twelve-unit taxpayer at 353 Broadway in Woodmere, L.I. for its first retail food and bake shop. Mr. Steinberg twenty-three years ago leased space in Brooklyn to Dubrow's for its first cafeteria." (New York Times, July 20, 1952)

Doing a little math, based on the year the blurb was published, the first Dubrow's was opened in 1929 - much earlier than I had thought. This would have been either the Eastern Parkway Dubrow's or the King's Highway Dubrow's. The earliest articles I found in the New York Times about Dubrow's go back to 1941. Those will be forthcoming.

But what is this about a "food and bake shop" in Woodmere, Long Island? I don't know anything about this venture.

The condo was brought to you by Dubrow's

On a more personal note, I moved recently. My spouse and I purchased a condominium in the Boston area. It's nice to not be paying rent anymore.

The only reason we could afford to do so, and get an excellent, 30-year mortgage, is because of Dubrow's Cafeteria.

See, my grandfather, Benjamin Dubrow's son-in-law, was the last owner of Dubrow's, and he made the decision to sell because the cost of New York real estate was more than it could turn in profits. But selling gave him a good chunk of money, which upon his death in 2001 (two weeks after 9/11) and my grandmother's death in 2005, was left to my mother, my aunt, and his six grandchildren.

We've always had a diner theme in our kitchen, because my spouse and I have a thing for diners. But now it's more special than ever, and very fitting, because it's an homage to Dubrow's.

Dubrow's as cultural milepost

About a year ago, I found a reference in another blog to a visit to Brooklyn by JFK, which apparently took place right in front of Dubrow's Cafeteria.

Today I found another reference to what may be the same event, in an article by Carol DeMare, as the subject of her story recalls JFK's assassination:

"Albany attorney Jerry Weiss, was 18 and working in the accounting department of Irving Bank and Trust Co. on Wall Street while attending college. A co-worker heard it over the radio, and "we thought he was kidding, and when we realized he wasn't, a pall came over, and by the time we left ... it was dark and dismal." The subway was dead silent "and people were literally crying, tears running down their cheeks," Weiss said. "It was the most eerie awful train ride home ever."

Weiss, 61, was energized seeing the candidate in Brooklyn outside Dubrow's Cafeteria where 10,000 came out. "This figure jutting up from a convertible, it was magical. I think he stood for the notion we can be better than we are as a nation, so when it was lights out, it was a terrible blow."

Family-owned business

I believe this is the last of the stories I collected over last Passover. It's sort of two stories in one, told by my mother. First, she recalls working at Dubrow's and trying to get take-out orders right. Then, she tells a story about a situation unique to working in a family-owned business...

Bonnie: OK. So I would answer all the phones, and mostly it was nothing. But from about 11 to 1, we’d get all these huge office runs, from the, uh, fashion district, and I remember the guy who was running the outgoing business, was real anxious sort, but he was always yelling, and pulling out clumps of his hair. No, really, he had like bald spots from literally pulling out his hair. And invariably I would get the whole order, it was big, like twenty sandwiches, and forget to ask, “do you want pumpernickel or rye?” On each sandwich I had to ask them that. And he would see my order and see I didn’t have that down, and he would – (I would say:) “I swear, they all wanted rye bread!”

So he arrived at work, and he would always come by and find out how I was doing, and so one day I said to him, there’s this man– he keeps looking at me – and he was so excited, it was something he could get into, because I’m sixteen, and no one should be looking at his cousin, and he says “oh – tell me the next time you see him, point him out to me!” He was hoping to push him down the stairs or something. So, uh - no really he was, he was looking for a fight– so, um, finally, I did see him again, and I said “He’s over there, in the corner there.” He says, “Where, where?” I said “Over there in the corner.” He said “well, tell me where he is – is he next to cousin PG?”

Stewart: It is cousin PG.

Bonnie: It is cousin PG – he (was) staring at me because I look like Sylvia. Is that funny?

Stewart is my uncle, the husband of my mother's sister Beth. Sylvia was, of course, Irving Kaplan's wife and Benjamin Dubrow's second youngest daughter. Apparently my mother had a cousin she didn't know, who wandered into Dubrow's, and was watching her because of her resemblence to her mother. Which is just the kind of thing that would only ever happen in a family-owned business.

Dubrow's mentioned in an obituary

From an obituary for "Dr. Harvey 'Gizmo' Rosenburg" by Gayle Gleckler, the deceased's self-described "first ex-wife."

"I met Harvey in 1974 at Leber Katz Partners Advertising where he was consulting the agency to help us win the Celanese account. We didn't get the account. But I won Harvey. My life started spinning instantly. A whirlwind romance...we were married at the UN Chapel, handholding friends circling around us as we said our vows to be true while simultaneously letting each other be free spirits. An inspirational conundrum. Our black tie reception was held at his family's famous Dubrow's Cafeteria in the Garment Center. The great deco room was filled with minks, diamonds, amazing music, and my creative centerpieces made of carrots, celery and parsley. His grandma told me later she took a few home. They were delicious and made a great soup. Advertising, fashion folks from Manhattan, his mom, Helen, hisdad, Henry, Phyliss, Paul, family from Brooklyn and the five towns went through the cafeteria line for seconds and thirds of blintzes, pastrami, rice pudding."

Now, what's interesting here is that the author of this memorial says Harvey was a member of the family, yet I've never heard of him. Maybe he was a member of the larger Dubrow's family. Still, the idea of a wedding reception at Dubrow's seems like it would be memorable. I wonder if he was the only one to do so. Does anyone remember him? He sounds like quite a character.

Also, later she makes mention a disturbing incident:

"Nothing with Harvey was ordinary. In the midst of the nuptial excitement and happiness of this splendiferous occasion there was a random murder - I believe a stabbing - outside Dubrow's that night."

Surely someone knows something about this? A murder that took place outside Dubrow's? Anyone recall hearing about this?

A few other tidbits

I'm in the middle of moving across town, so I've been too busy to do much with this blog lately, but I found a couple interesting things on the internet today:

Dubrow's Table Talk
Published: August 16, 1985

To the Editor:
A eulogy for New York's late Dubrow's cafeteria (news story, Aug. 3):
I went there for lunch a few months ago. As was the custom, a stranger, about my father's age, sat down at my table. He looked at my tray - blintzes, coffee and Boston cream pie - and then did his duty: ''You call that lunch?'' STEPHEN DRUCKER New York, Aug. 5, 1985

Also, in this article about my cousin Joe, who worked at Dubrow's and who has shared several of his memories of Dubrow's, the author mentions the Dubrow's that was opened on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. Anyone remember that one? How did it differ? How was it similar? How long was it open?

"The Cafeteria" (VHS, 2000)

Just noticed on Amazon.com there's a bunch of copies of this video for sale. It's pretty good. Kind of depressing. It's an American Playhouse production, released on video in 2000, and based on the short story by Isaac Bashevis Singer. I think I might buy myself a copy at some point, mostly for the footage of Dubrow's, where it was filmed.

Stealing from Dubrow's

More memories from the stories I tape recorded and transcribed while I was down in Miami for Passover...again, Bonnie is my mother (Benjamin Dubrow's granddaughter) and Ruthie is my great-aunt (Benjamin's youngest daughter).

Bonnie: Well, Irving told me a great one, that when he was running Dubrow’s, he told the help, uh, you have to also help us not have people stealing, so if you see people stealing, let me know. So, uh, one of the waiters sees a person that had cottage cheese for like, ten cents, had a prune, it was like fifteen cents. He saw somebody push the prune into the cottage cheese and cover it up! So – he dutifully reports it. I mean, what is he going to do – he wanted the help to be wary – what is he going to do – “Is there a prune buried in your cottage cheese?”

Ruthie: Well how about the story on 7th Avenue, when, uh, your father found out some guy was regularly stealing the two dollar cakes, they cost two dollars, or three dollars, whatever they were – he was putting them in his pocket – knowing your father, you’re not going to be surprised to know this – when they finally caught him, he said “you know, I don’t mind you having it, I’m glad you like it, but supposing you pay for it?” He said “I should pay for something so small?”

Eastern Parkway Dubrow's

I received a great link to a message board where people recalled memories of the Dubrow's on Eastern Parkway. I thought I's highlight some of the comments here, because so little has emerged about this Dubrow's - most of the stories have been about the Manhattan and King's Highway locations.

Walter starts things off by writing:
"Who remembers Dubrow's on Eastern Parkway and Utica Ave...Corned Beef, Pastrami, Chopped Liver, Chopped Herring..great bread and all the seltzer you could drink...I got heartburn just writing about this "delicious" place."

Kath replies: "Dubrow's changed the face of truth in menu laws because it's sandwich salads were not as labeled. The chicken salad had turkey scraps left over from the carving station so they had to call it poultry salad. Tuna was renamed tuna and egg salad, etc. Who cared? We loved them!"

Barbara wrote:"Kings Highway was the one I went to. Great place for people watching. Some of the strangest people I've ever observed were regulars at Dubrow's. Best bagle (sic) with lox and cream cheese for only $1.35 in the mid 70's. I remember being at a rally in front of Dubrow's for Hubert Humphrey when he was running for president in the sixties. Lot's (sic) of celebrities were there and my friend and I were almost trampled in the crowd."

Joe wrote: "how about the waffles?? best i ever had - and the coffee came with cream in little ceramic mugs - the city has lost a lot of good places to eat - the Automat was a great place - to this day i've never had macaroni and cheese or baked beans like they made them."

Another person wrote in: "And besides all the wonderful food you already mentioned they also had a rice pudding or noodle pudding with warm cherry sauce that I loved --something I can't find anymore. I used to love those cafeterias."

Finally, users named Barry and Art Weiss concluded that "The Dubrow's on Kings Highway was better."

Now that we're into this thing...

I'm really curious to know about who's visiting, who's reading, and what your experiences have been - either with Dubrow's, or with the blog. Please comment on this post, even if you do so anonymously, so I know you're here.
When you do, please answer these questions:

1. How did you find this blog?
2. What was your experience of Dubrow's Cafeteria?
3. What part of the world do you now live in?
4. How often do you visit this blog?
5. What would you like to see me do differently? What would not want to see changed?

We're approaching 1000 hits since I installed the counter a couple months ago, which is fantastic. Now I want to know more about all of who have been by.

Hungry Jews

This one also comes from the Passover transcriptions - my cousin Joe recalling his days working at Dubrow's. As you may have gathered, a lot of people in my mother's generation worked at Dubrow's for a summer or two. Joe's mother was Lila Adler (nee Dubrow), and one of Ruthie's older sisters.

Joe: There’s nothing worse than hungry Jews, in July. I worked for uncle Max a lot, during the summer, and I was behind the counter, and I can tell you, when they get off the train, I can tell you –

Ruthie: I didn’t know you worked there.

Joe: Oh, many summers – grandma said, “you’re gonna go to camp.” “No, I’m not going to camp.” “Who do you think you are, the Prince of Vales?” Someday I’m going to write my biography, I’m going to title it “The Prince of Vales” ...she would say, go to Canada. Well, that was when I didn’t go to Canada, and I worked there. And there was one woman, every day, wore the same sweater, and she would say “I vant a piece of corn.” And I go to the corn, and she would say “Not that one! That one! Not that one, that one!” Every day, that corn, this corn, that corn, this corn. Then you’d finally do it, she’d look at it, “no, maybe I don’t..” It was a ritual. Every day.

With hot milk? Or without milk?

Another from my Passover transcriptions. This comes from my mother, Bonnie. What I love about these stories is the equal affection with which customers and employees are recalled.

For this one, it was hard to capture because it relies on hearing my mother use a Yiddish accent, much as in the one Ruthie told earlier. I've done my best to convey the humor, but you'll have to use your imagination a little as well to really hear it.

Bonnie: No, my favorite Dubrow’s story is…somebody who was behind the counter who was not English speaking, is trying to serve oatmeal to someone, and is trying to inquire, “do you want it with hot milk…or without milk?” And so the person says, “With hout milk!” “With hot milk? Or without milk?” “With hout milk!” Back and forth for awhile – finally, it dawned on him, the person, give him the oatmeal, and the milk on the side. Isn’t that great! “With hout milk!”

Another mural photo

This is why I sometimes think I have ADHD: I was just looking through the photo gallery (see the link of the right) and I realized that I never posted this photo when I posted the others taken by Marcia Bricker. Unlike the others, which were of the mural and architecture of the King's Highway location, this one is of the mural that was in the Manhattan location.

Also, you might have noticed the counter installed on this blog couple weeks ago. I'm pretty impressed that in just a couple weeks we've already had over 200 hits...also, I think it's pretty cool that people in Poland, Spain, Ireland, Columbia, Vietnam, and the Philippines have come by. Welcome!

A bit controversial

I thought for a long time about whether I should post this piece of the transcriptions. As you'll see, Joe is telling me not to put it on the blog. My mother, meanwhile, gives the go ahead. But the whole point of this blog is to commemorate and document Dubrow's. Any good documentary maker would say that you don't censor what you find just because you don't like it. So here we go.

Joe: Now, Bonnie, you gotta hear this one (to me)– turn the tape recorder off –

Bonnie: No, you’re not turning it off –

Joe: This is not good. This is not good for our image. Uh…they were trying to unionize the cafeteria. And they didn’t want to unionize. So the union went down to the bowery…the truck – they gave them more money – this is absolutely true – my father was there. (to Ruthie) See, they don’t tell you the bad news, you would have said “Pop, unionize!” You know, I told my father, I asked him once, “why are there no Black countermen?” He said, "You want to go to college?" I said, “No, I really don’t want to go to college, frankly. And I’d rather you put Black people behind the counter.” He said, “You want me to be the first?” I said, “yes, I want you to be the first!” But, your father, my father, they weren’t the first. I know people who were – I’ve given awards to people who were – people who had the balls in Miami Beach in those days to stand up, and it wasn’t our family. But anyway, they were also – they didn’t want to unionize – they would bring these bums in, and of course it drove all these other people away - Simon Batwinick was by a tree, outside, screaming “The Jews go to Miami in the winter!” – he was mister union man. Now, years later, he’s a partner of our father’s and he was the worst son of a bitch to people that worked under him, ever, ever…I don’t know anyone who was as mean as I heard he was…

Ruthie: I didn’t know that either.

Joe: Yeah, that’s where he was: “The Dubrows go to Florida in the winter!” What a bastard he was when he became a boss. I remember it like it was yesterday.


Apparently, Dubrow's employees at one or more of the locations attempted to unionize. Anyone else have recollection of this? If Simon Batwinick (spelling uncertain) or his family are reading this blog, I feel compelled to note that the opinions suggested here are not the opinions of anyone other than Joe. I would very much like to hear your story, if you are out there.

As a former union president myself (Parry Center for Children, local 987 of SEIU/OPEU) I find it unsettling to think that any of my relatives were anti-union. But I also know that the way the world works is that there are managers and workers, and that when you're on the manager side being accountable for the bottom line, things look a lot different than when you're the worker, defending your right to organize. Both sides have truths, both sides have struggles. One side just has more power, and power is rarely given up without a fight. It's easy to empathize with why they would have resisted unionization, even if it's not pretty.

Photo of the Manhattan Dubrow's

This is a good shot of the Manhattan Dubrow's. It's not a great photograph - it looks like it was undeveloped in the bottom half, where it's white - but it's a good shot. I'm not sure who took it. We found it while going through my grandparents' old photographs and papers this spring.

The two Simons

This is a transcribed conversation between my great aunt Ruthie and my cousin Joe, who is a nephew of Benjamin Dubrow. They are recalling two men who used to work at Dubrow's, both of whom were named Simon.

Ruthie: There were two men named Simon. Do you remember that story? Well, one of them you knew, Simon Botwinik –

Joe: I’ll tell you a story about him in a second.

Ruthie: Anyhow, I forget what the other Simon did, Nathan I think was a manager. Oh, he was at the salads?

Joe: That’s the guy who would sweat, making the chicken, uh, tuna fish salad…

Ruthie: Anyhow, just by pure coincidence, both men named Simon, that was their actual names, had the hugest noses. But huge. But, uh, Simon Botwinik finally had plastic surgery done…it was still far from perfect…but it was much smaller then. So they then became – this is Yiddish – Simon 'untha nose,' that was him, without the nose – and Simon 'wittha nose.'

Nathan Make-a-Line

Finally, months later, I've had a few hours to sit down and transcribe some of the stories I gathered when I was down in Miami for Passover this year. Yes, Passover! It's been a busy couple months. I'll post them one at a time, because they're rich with flavor, like the food at Dubrow's itself. I plan to post them as they were transcribed, that is, as they were told to me, because I think the personality telling the stories adds to the stories themselves.

This one comes from my great aunt Ruthie, Benjamin Dubrow's youngest daughter:


Ruthie: Well, one that was one of my favorites, had to do with - you know, the cafeteria set up, well, there was a counter worker, and uh, he was very short. Which I can appreciate, because I can never see the person on the other side when I’m shopping. But he had difficulty seeing who was there most of the time. But he knew what he wanted to say, and he said it. And uh, no matter who was there, if there was one person there, he would say “make a line!” So, you know, all the characters who worked there – some of the customers had made up names, and he was called ‘Nathan Make-a-Line.’ Because my father started (Dubrow's) when I was, you know, real young, that’s what I thought his name was: “Nathan Make-a-Line.”

Irving in Dubrow's

Found some more photos in my aunt Beth's house - this one is of Irving Kaplan in the Manhattan restaurant.

You can ignore this

I'm just posting this image so I can use it as my User Photo. Click on my user profile to see it...

Dubrow's tray

Look what I scored on my recent trip down to Miami!

We had one growing up, but my mom wasn't parting with hers. Turns out my aunt Beth has several of them, so she passed one on to me...

I also got some great stories from my great aunt Ruthie and my cousins Joe and Steven...but it'll take me a little while to get them up here. I just got back from our annual Passover trip late late last night.

Rose Dubrow

This is only marginally related to Dubrow's Cafeteria, but I'm going to post it anyway.

This is the only thing I have that belonged to my great grandmother, Rose Dubrow, wife of Benjamin Dubrow, who of course was the man who started the Dubrow's Cafeteria chain. The inside monogram of the mink stole indicates that belonged to Rose Dubrow. It says "Rose D" and there is a similarly monogrammed mink stole that belonged to Sylvia Kaplan, Rose's daughter.

Very little was known about Benjamin Dubrow. He emigrated in 1914 from the village of Pagost (Pahust) outside Minsk, Russia. Simon and Rivka Soloway, parents of Rose Dubrow, had already emigrated in 1907. Little is known about Benjamin Dubrow's parents or ancestors, except that he had a sister named Sylvia who refused to emigrate when he did.

A family story that has been passed down to my from my grandparents and mother is that Benjamin did not want to leave Russia, but Rose did. She took him to the rebbe in their community, who told him "if you don't like it, you can come back." They left for America, on what turned out to be the last boat before World War I, when the ports closed. Effectively, this meant Benjamin Dubrow couldn't come back.

And had he waffled any longer, and not listened to Rose and his rebbe, he might not have ever made it here. And - though this seems inconsequential in some ways - there might never have been a Dubrow's Cafeteria.

George Dubrow (1903-1956)

This is a plaque of George Dubrow, which reads:
"Dedicated to the memory of George F. Dubrow 1903-1956 as a tribute by his employees to his inspirational leadership and valued friendship."

The photo was taken by Leonard Dubrow, who was George's son. George was Benjamin Dubrow's son, and one of the earliest managers at Dubrow's Cafeteria. He died too young in a car accident. Tragically, George's oldest son, Irwin, who also worked at Dubrow's for awhile, also died too young but by his own hands.

I have heard that this plaque was on display in Dubrow's - I am not sure which one. Anyone remember it?

Dubrow's teaspoon for sale on Ebay

Sadly, the auction is already over.

Here's the bid:
You are bidding on a vintage silver plated iced tea spoon from the long closed Dubrow's Cafeteria in New York City. Until it closed in 1985, the cafeteria was a fixture in the Garment District at 7th Avenue at 38th Street and was the location for filming the PBS movie "The Cafeteria", a short story by Isaac Bashevis Singer. Spoon handle is marked "dubrow's" Manufacturer stamp on back of handle is "R.W.& S." A great piece of memorabilia!

Spoon is in very good condition with no rusting or noticeable defects. Silver plate appears intact with some areas of scratching and wear, particularly on the underside of the bowl. The blackness of the bowl you see is from the scan, not the spoon. It is shiny!

Buyer pays $3.00 USPS First Class shipping which includes insurance. Will combine shipping on multiple wins. U.S. Buyers only. Will only ship in U.S. Will accept personal check (shipping delayed until check clears), money order or cashiers check. Sorry, no PayPal. Buyer must pay within 10 days. Buyer must e-mail seller within 3 days. Thanks for bidding!

Starting bid - $9.99. Ebay user “caddie49”

Here's a link to the archived listing on Ebay, which includes a picture.

Dubrow's across politics

I am learning that Dubrow's Cafeteria was loved by people of all political beliefs, as well as by people of different cultures and religions. To me, this is one of the wonderful things about a restaurant, especially a cafeteria-style restaurant. It brings the community together, and some things become bigger than politics.

Here's two blogs I've found that represent the spectrum of political opinions, but that both mention a love of Dubrow's.

In Down with Tyranny, kenniny writes: "I've met every Democratic president since a horse in JFK's "motorcade" stepped on my foot in front of Dubrow's Cafeteria on Kings Highway when I was a child." (Nov 4, 2005)

On the other end of the political spectrum, Linda SoG writes that among her Brooklyn memories is one of "...going round and round the revolving door at Dubrow's Cafeteria under the El on the Highway."

Two vantage points by two different people who share a love of the same city and a restaurant - isn't that what community is all about?

Relatively quiet around here...

But I'm still here. Waiting for some more stories and memories. My cousing Joanne Gruber, who wrote many articles about Dubrow's, including one I reprinted here, should be contacting me soon with some good stuff.

In the mean time, check out this blog I recently found. It's a collection of Brooklyn stories. There's at least one reference to Dubrow's in it, and I posted a comment inviting the members to visit me and share more memories of Dubrow's.

"Eteria"

This is another image of the destruction of the Dubrow's on King's Highway in Brooklyn; this one by Jerry at Pixphotos.com.

Poem by my mother

On the 25th Anniversary of My Sister’s Death
(for Laura Kaplan Levin, 1946-1980)

by Bonnie Lyons

I looked up and you were there, smiling.
You’d arranged for a baby-sitter, driven to Trenton,
taken a train to Penn Station, caught a taxi to the Hilton
on West 54th and in the maze of meeting rooms
found the correct one by 8:30 AM just to hear me
read a paper I can no longer remember at the annual MLA convention.
A few hours later we were standing in line at Dubrow’s
when this old couple, unaware that Dubrow’s was Daddy’s cafeteria,
told us the Chinese food was terrible. The more they warned us,
the more we laughed. The more we laughed,
the more they warned us. Between bites of scrumptious blintzes
and sour cream (who orders Chinese food at a Jewish cafeteria?)
we looked into each other’s face and collapsed into giggles.
Then you glanced at your watch, gasped, and we sprinted
back to Penn station just in time for your return trip.
Thirty years later I clearly see us running
side by side, laughing all the way.

Demolition

Photo by Marcia Bricker.

These were the letters from the neon signs that used to grace the King's Highway Dubrow's in Brooklyn. Isn't this an amazing shot?

King's Highway mosaic

Again, photo by Marcia Bricker, who states that this is the "detail of the mosaic that covered the outside wall, mostly on the 16th Street side" of the Dubrow's on King's Highway in Brooklyn, NY.

Marcia also asks in a comment on another entry whether anyone has recollections or memories about the "other" Dubrow's in Brooklyn. Most of what I have heard from people is about the Dubrow's on King's Highway.

Photo of the mural in the King's Highway Dubrow's

This photo was also sent to me by the photographer, Marcia Bricker, who says it's of the mural that was in the Dubrow's on King's Highway in Brooklyn.

I'll be posting one of Marcia's photos each day, just so people can savor them. There may be a lapse this weekend, as I am going to Seattle for a friend's wedding, and don't know how much internet access I'll have.

Photo of the King's Highway Dubrow's

This photo was emailed to me by Marcia Bricker, the photographer. In addition to being a fantastic photograph in and of itself, it also shows the swanky interior of the Dubrow's Cafeteria on King's Highway in Brooklyn.

Wikipedia

I've started an entry in Wikipedia, the world's coolest encyclopedia, about Dubrow's. Because Wikipedia is an online, public encyclopedia, anyone can edit the entries. So feel free to offer more facts about Dubrow's. Also, I reference several people associated with Dubrow's in the entry (Benjamin Dubrow, George Dubrow, Irving Kaplan, Paul Tobin) so if people have more history to offer about any of those people, feel free to start entries about them.

A little backstory

As many of you know, or have gathered reading this blog, Dubrow is the family name of my grandmother, Sylvia Kaplan. They were the Dubrowvinskis, originally, and came to America from the little town Pahust (or Pogost, according the Jewish genealogical site I found) just outside of Minsk, in what is now Belarus.

Benjamin Dubrow emigrated with his wife Rose in 1914. His sister refused to emigrate. He and Rose had five children: George, Lila, Minnie, Sylvia, and Ruthie. Benjamin opened Dubrow's in 1952. His son, George Dubrow ran the Manhattan Dubrow's until 1955, when he died suddenly in a car accident. George's oldest son Irwin then ran the Manhattan Dubrow's until 1970 when he committed suicide. My mother recalled that he killed himself on the same day that Janis Joplin overdosed and died. Which is a particularly weird juxtaposition considering that my father, Grant Lyons, was a close friend of Janis' in high school. In any case, the Manhattan Dubrow's was actually close for a short period of time in until a new owner and manager could be established.

My grandfather, Irving Kaplan, came into the business late. Paul Tobin, Benjamin Dubrow's grandson, had been running the Manhattan restaurant and enlisted my grandfather's help. They ran it together for the last decade of its existence, but the declining garment industry and the cost of Manhattan real estate prevented it from remaining open.

Another loss for Manhattan

Somehow, this feels like it's related to Dubrow's: The Beekman theater, where Annie Hall was filmed, is closing its doors after 53 years. It feels like it's from the same era as Dubrow's and my grandfather.

All three of those things have come to an end. I guess everything does.

On the set of The Cafeteria

This photo accompanied an article in the New York Times (Saturday, August 20, 1983) about the filming of the PBS/American Playhouse movie "The Cafeteria." The movie was based on an Isaac Bashevis Singer short story.

Check out this little bit of sad irony, an excerpt from the article that accompanied the photo:

"Where else to do it but in a cafeteria? And where to find a real cafeteria in the traditional mold but Dubrow's, a far from extinct survivor of a breed that is too far gone to even be called an endangered species."

This article was written just under two years before Dubrow's did in fact become extinct. It doesn't sound like the author saw Dubrow's closure coming at all...

Last apple strudel

This is from an article in the New York Times (Saturday, August 3, 1985) entitled "Dubrow's Serves Its Last Apple Strudel." Here's a few excerpts from the article. I love that they interviewed customers, employees, and managers alike about the impact of the closing of Dubrow's Cafeteria.

"The secret was the customer got to choose, the food was good, and the price was reasonable," said Paul Tobin, one of Dubrow's owners.

"Now I'm all alone," Mr. (Irving) Moskowitz said. "There's no place to eat around here. It was more than just a place to eat. It was a meeting place. A place to be. You didn't get to know them. But they were people, and you sort of knew them. This city doesn't care about things like that."

"This is it?" Miss (Joan) Cohen asked Jennie Porat, who has worked at the bakery for nine years.
"Money, money, money," Miss Porat replied.

Photo of Leib Lensky at Dubrow's

This is the photo of Leib Lensky in Dubrow's, from the article in New York Magazine (August 12,1985) in the last blog entry. I believe this photo was taken on the last day the Manhattan Dubrow's was open.

"The horse and buggy in a world of automobiles"

This is an excellent article about the closing of Dubrow's, written by Joanne Gruber, who is also one of Benjamin Dubrow's grandchildren. My aunt Beth sent me three different articles from various places about Dubrow's - this is the first time I've had a chance to type them up. I'll scan the photos from the articles in and post those, too, in time.

“Mourning Dubrow’s” by Joanne Gruber
New York Magazine, August 12th, 1985

The other night, a character actor named Leib Lensky was sitting in the middle of Dubrow’s, the huge cafeteria on Seventh Avenue at 38th street that he’s been going to for more than twenty years. Lensky, a bearded, five-foot-tall man who’ll admit to being “over seventy,” methodically carved up his boiled chicken and read his Yiddish and English newspapers at his usual table, but he seemed morose.

Like many other regular customers, he knew that Dubrow's, one of the last of the city’s counter service cafeterias, would soon be closing down. “I feel terrible,” said Lensky, who is best remembered for playing the senile Russian priest in Woody Allen’s Love and Death. “For me it’s a problem, because I’m by myself. They treated me like I’m family here.”

For 33 years, Dubrow’s, built by Russian immigrant Benjamin Dubrow, was the spiritual center of the garment district. Along with Leib Lensky, some 4,000 customers a day came throught its Art Deco dining room and take-out department to get reliable, heaping portions of blintzes, brisket, fresh pastries, an tidbits of industry gossip.

The most popular item on the menu was the noodles and cheese, at $2 a plate. For $4.50, you could get half of a roast chicken, two vegetables, a roll, salad, and soup or juice.

Dubrow’s clientele included such celebrities as Paul Newman, Nelson Rockefeller, and Myron Cohen. Last year, Isaac Bashevis Singer’s short story “The Cafeteria” was brought to life there on PBS, with longtime customers appearing as extras.

But fast food competitors, the shrinking of the city’s garment industry, and steadily rising operating costs finally convinced co-owners Irving Kaplan and Paul Tobin (the founder’s son-in-law and grandson) to sell their lease to the landlords, who in turn have sold the building for more than $5 million to the Phillips International Holding Company, run by real estate developer Philip Pivesky.

“It’s like the end of an era,” said Kaplan. “But times change; we’re like the horse and buggy in a world of automobiles.”

Last week, the place was visited by armies of well-wishers who came in to bid the owners and staff goodbye. The younger customers will presumably go somewhere else to buy their kaiser rolls, but the older regulars who sat there and schmoozed all evening, nursing a Danish and a cup of coffee, feel they won’t easily find another home.
“Here they know me,” said Leib Lensky. “I had my privileges “

Photo of Irving at Dubrow's

According to my aunt Beth, this photo was taken on the day the Manhattan Dubrow's closed, sometime in the 1980's. I remember when it closed - but I can't remember exactly when it happened.

Isn't this a great photo? My grandfather looks happy - but sad, too. He was a very emotional man. My mom has often joked that she, my cousin David, and my grandfather could rent themselves out as the Lachrymose Trio - crying at every occasion. Ultimately, I think he was happy to close Dubrow's, happy to retire - despite what it meant about the changing face of New York City.

Working at Dubrow's

Happy Passover to everyone!

I just came back from Miami and so I've got some renewed energy for this project. My aunt Beth, Irving Kaplan's oldest daughter, told me a funny story about working at the Manhattan Dubrow's one summer. It was about 1958, and she was 18 or so, and her younger sister, Bonnie (my mother) had already worked at Dubrow's. So when Irving put her in charge of answering phones, and asked her "do you know all the prices?" Beth said "of course!" - not wanting to appear less competant than her younger sister. But in reality she didn't have the faintest clue what the prices were. So she just made them up.

In re-telling this story, Beth said: "I didn't know there would be so many people calling...I thought maybe two or three people..."

At the end of the day, Irving, who was a meticulous businessman, counted out for the day. He was not pleased. Beth said she can still hear him saying to her in that tone that meant trouble: "Beeeeeeeeth..." (The inflection is hard to capture in writing.)

Beth said she went home that night and learned all the prices. But she only worked there one summer. "They couldn't handle having me there any longer!"

Mourning the loss of Dubrow's

The playwright Donald Margulies reminisces about Dubrow's:

"To have come of age in Eisenhower-era, baby-boomer Brooklyn was to feel cheated of the glory days. By the late '60s, public school education, which had served me and my fellow boomers so well for a time, was no longer a panacea for upwardly mobile middle-class kids. The families of those kids moved upward — or outward — to the suburban promise of Long Island and sent once-solid Brooklyn neighborhoods spiraling downward. Once urban flight took hold, the last vestiges of my parents' Brooklyn vanished. Streets and subways were no longer safe. The Sheepshead movie theatre was converted into a roller-skating rink; the Elm Theatre became a bank. Ebinger's Bakery, famous for its chocolate blackout cakes, went out of business and Dubrow's Cafeteria, best known for its kasha varnishkas, closed its revolving doors."

Originally in the Los Angles Times, reprinted in Playbill. You can read the whole article here.

Philosophizing at Dubrow's

This lovely description of Dubrow's comes from Lisa Kennedy's article in the Village Voice, which you can read here. She is quoting Brooklyn native Bernard Glassman's experience of Dubrow's:

"Truth be told, that first day's search for boxes for shelter and cans for income had the playful exuberance of Carole Lombard tracking down "a forgotten man" for her upper-class scavenger hunt in My Man Godfrey. But Glassman is candid about the romantic origins of the Street Retreat. "I remember explicitly sitting in Dubrow's, a cafeteria in Brooklyn, eating," he says one afternoon. "And at the next table was a bunch of bums - Bowery-type bums - and they were discussing philosophy, and I was amazed. Their discussion made me feel that there was some kind of knowledge on the streets that was more profound than the kind of knowledge I was getting. I can still picture them - it was a long time ago."

Like father, like son

How funny...I just found a reference to Dubrow's online in an interview with Dennis Prager a couple days ago, and tonight I found a reference to Dubrow's in an excerpt from Chapter XV of the memoirs of Max (Mac) Prager, Dennis Prager's father:

"One Thursday morning in the beginning of August 1940 while taking inventory at Kay Cloak &Suit Co., something snapped in my mind and told me that it was time to propose marriage to the young lady who was my best friend for four years. Since I was one block from Pearl Dress Co., I suggested that we meet for lunch which was not unusual when I was working near Hilda. She met me outside her building and we went for lunch at Dubrow's Cafeteria at the comer of her street. While sitting at a table and eating, I, in a not too romantic setting, said in a matter of fact manner that the time for marriage has arrived. I was not surprised at Hilda’s reaction which was not one of shock since after seeing each other every day for four years, marriage at some point in time was expected. At this point, I must admit that neither of our parents ever inquired as to when we were getting married."

Dubrow's drew people of all political persuasions

I found this excerpt about Dubrow's in an article by Luke Ford about the conservative talk show host Dennis Prager:

"In late 1963, bored with school, Dennis embarked on an intense exploration of Manhattan's cultural attractions. One day he bought a $1 ticket to hear Alexander Schneider and his chamber group play Handel's Concerti Grossi at Carnegie Hall. Prager fell in love with classical music. The next day he spent two weeks lunch money and allowance ($32) to buy concert tickets at Carnegie.

For the rest of high school, Dennis spent two-to-three evenings a week in Manhattan, attending plays, concerts and book stores. He usually ate his dinner (tuna fish salad plate, apple pie and coffee for $1.50) at Dubrow's Cafeteria by the subway station on King Highway."

A story

This comes from my great aunt Marian Rossman. She recalls that Dubrow's was the kind of place everybody knew. "You would put down your $.10 for a cup of coffee and sit there all day." She also said that the Miami Dubrows was often written up in the paper, and she would collect the articles and send them the Sylvia, Irving Kaplan's wife and her sister-in-law. So those articles are probably somewhere in my grandparents' house right now...I'll be doing a little rummaging when I go down there this year for Passover.

Recognition!

Well, already this blog has become the first item that comes up when you Google "Dubrow's Cafeteria." This is the epitome of success in the 21st century and the internet age.

A mystery

I need help on this one. I found this obituary in the online version of the Montclair Times, a New Jersey paper:

Leo Martin

Wednesday, May 10, 2000

Leo Martin, 83, of Montclair died on Tuesday, May 2, in the Kessler Care Center at St. Cloud in West Orange. Born in Poland, Mr. Martin came to the United States in 1928. He had lived in Montclair since 1951. Mr. Martin attended Northeastern University in Boston.

Prior to owning The Marlboro Inn in Montclair (1976-1979), Mr. Martin had owned the Claremont Diner in Verona, Arthur Maisel's in Atlantic City, Dubrow's Cafeteria, both in New York City and Brooklyn, and the Saxony Cafeteria in Newark.

Mr. Martin's wife, Teresa, predeceased him in March. He is survived by three daughters, Barbara Cogan, Linda Festa, and Patricia Roelke; seven grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

Now, I checked with my mother, the unofficial family historian. As far as we know, there is no Leo Martin in our family, and no one named Leo Martin ever "owned" Dubrow's. Perhaps he was a manager? Or is he some long lost family member? We do have one of those, actually. But he's been found now.

Poetic tribute

I think this is an amazing poem, and I love that it references Dubrow's, but what's interesting is that I don't remember there being any waitresses there.

Waitress
By Jason Shinder

Originally published in Every Room We Ever Slept In, Sheep Meadow Press, 1993
Reprinted in Night Out: Poems about Hotels, Motels, Restaurants, and Bars, 1997

There is a table in the back where she opens
her mouth to red lipstick, lets her eyes down
for a touch of blue mascara, and rests

her bunioned feet. Six more hours
before she can sip Coca Cola and sleep
in front of her father’s new Magnavox 14 inch Black & White,

Milton Berle running across the screen.
She touched Mr. Berle’s hand once in 1948
when he raised his right arm for her

and a roast beef sandwich. The world shrieked,
rang in promise. She knows it was then the twitching began
in her left eye. Esther is still

waiting tables at Dubrow’s. Sadie still hanging coats
at Sutter’s. Sunday, she’s got her cousin Lenny’s
green Chevrolet. The tall kitchen doors swing back

and forth, parting the hair on her forehead.
She can taste the salt at the back of her throat
thinking of the man

who will lean into her one night. Not the girl
smiling, balancing three bowls of soup on her left arm,
but a woman who could claim all beauty hers,

not to keep it, but to hold it long enough to change.

Poetic tribute

This comes from my cousin David, too:
 
"As I might speak of e. e. cummings enormous room or Swann's Madeline
you speak of Dubrow's Cafeteria and Mallomars."

It's from the poem "You Could Live If They Let You" by Wallace Markfield, but I can't find a copy of the full poem. I'm hoping David will send it to me, but if anyone else has a some of Markfield's poetry lying around, send it this way. He sounds like a poet i'd like to check out.

First contacts

I emailed three people who made reference to Dubrow's, and have heard back from all three of them! I've sent letters out to twelve of my relatives asking for any stories or photos to include, and I've heard from four of them already via email. (Six of them are relatives without email, so they will take some time). I'm very excited about the momentum that is gaining already.

This comes from an email from Sam Person, who wrote an interesting personal essay that mentioned Dubrow's:

"First, you refer to a Dubrow's on "East" Parkway. The street was EASTERN Parkway, and frankly, I do not recall a Dubrow's there. On this I might be wrong. Also, the one location in Brooklyn you do not identify was, I believe, on Flatbush Avenue near Church Avenue. Again, however, check my facts. The painting of Dubrow's on your blog is great. Have prints ever been made that you are aware of, and if so, where might I find one?"

Here's the link for Ivan Koota's artwork. He is a self-taught artist from Brooklyn and I am not sure if his paintings have been made into prints.