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."