tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10507655.post6054259989772900654..comments2024-03-02T14:57:20.015-05:00Comments on Dubrow's Cafeteria: Foreshadowing the end of Dubrow'sEvehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08695149244974199579noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10507655.post-48302633438581752202007-02-12T10:10:00.000-05:002007-02-12T10:10:00.000-05:00Of course, this may be an example of there being m...Of course, this may be an example of there being many kinds of truth...the truth as reported by the New York Times, that Dubrow's served quickly and therefore customers that needed that, as well as the truth as reported by <A HREF="http://dubrows.blogspot.com/search/label/customers" REL="nofollow"> other customers</A> who recalled sitting at Dubrow's and schmoozing all day, of which my aunt Marian was perhaps one.<BR/><BR/>Both are equally valid. <BR/><BR/>Thanks, as always, for your thoughts and recollections.Evehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08695149244974199579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10507655.post-17313538776130548822007-02-12T03:40:00.000-05:002007-02-12T03:40:00.000-05:00I have to agree with the premise of the article an...I have to agree with the premise of the article and unfortunately contradict your Aunt Marian. <BR/><BR/>I left Brooklyn in 1968 and by the early '70s, I think the cafeteria era was in severe decline in NY because of fast food places like McDonalds, where the <I>alta cockers</I> could go and sit for hours. I don't mean the <I>alta cocker</I> comment in pejorative way, especially since I'm rapidly gaining entry to that category. But I think that cafeterias catered to the working stiff who didn't have the money for a fancy restaurant. <BR/><BR/>When the middle class started moving out of Brooklyn, Dubrow's was just left with people on a fixed income and they couldn't afford to run the place catering to customers who would sit for hours with a cup of coffee. Not with a large staff that prepared a large variety of food in comfortable surroundings. As a matter of fact, there was a walk-in Mcdonald's storefront on Kings Highway less than a block from Dubrow's. I don't know how long they coexisted, or if they were operating during the same time at all, but I think places like McDonalds on Kings Highway helped lead to the demise of Dubrow's. The fast fast food restaurants discouraged customers from lingering too long with their 25 cent coffee by installing hard plastic seats, small cramped tables and garish florescent lighting. Dubrow's probably had to settle for a less courteous method to encourage turnover. Also, I'm not certain, but I vaguely recall a Burger King on Kings Highway in the area. (It that instance, it was the perfect name for the fast food <I>jernt.)</I> <BR/><BR/>After moving to Texas in the early '80s, I was amazed to see cafeterias flourishing. Although their numbers have dwindled, they still do well in Texas, with chains like Lubys, Furrs and Wyatts, plus privately owned cafeterias in the smaller cities. McDonald's could get by with a staff of 5 or 6 people, plus the plastic seats that discouraged hanging around. I think that's the very reason that cafeterias still do well in Texas. If workers here make $8 an hour, it's considered big money so, other than eating at home, a cafeteria provides a place to have a decent meal at a reasonable price. Much like it did in NY in the '40s through the '60s.Jerry550https://www.blogger.com/profile/10917548618571677259noreply@blogger.com