Dubrow's cleaning crew

Here's the picture of the 1940 cleaning crew which Henry Jablonski refers to in the interview I conducted with him. He says that he is in this picture with his father - he started his career at Dubrow's as a boy and worked as a dishwasher. His father (Henry Jablonski Sr) was a counterman.  

Mr. Jablonski is the the young-looking boy who is fourth on the right.  His father is not in this picture.  The hand-written caption on the picture also names Mike Nagreski (spelling uncertain) and Pete Kolody and "German chef."  

Interview with Henry Jablonski, Part 3

This is the third and final installment of the interview I conducted with former employee Henry Jablonski.  Parts one at two can be found in the two previous posts.

Eve: So in terms of the people and the environment at Dubrow’s, what did you like best and what did you like least?

Henry: Well, first of all the people who worked in Dubrow’s in those days, were more elderly people.  Today, you go to most fast food stores, it’s mostly young people, or people between jobs,  ahh, school or something. The workforce is altogether different.  It was family people, lot of men like my father who raised his family, many many people I know had families, but today, it’s different, it’s a different story.

Eve: Yeah, it’s interesting, just like many generations of my father worked there, it sounds like multiple generations of your family worked there, your father, you, your son…

Henry: Yeah, other people I know, I also kept in contact with,  in the years after I left Dubrow’s, of course they’ve passed away now,  they were all family people…they wanted me to work in New York, I said, no, I didn’t want to go on the subway anymore, I had enough, so I got a job with the food service for colleges,  on the island, that’s what I was doing, when I retired.

Eve: Are there other specific people you remember from your time working at Dubrow’s?

Henry:  George Dubrow, and Pop Dubrow, for instance,  and there was an elderly gentleman, a very nice gentleman,  I remember him.  He had a driver, I remember he used to drive him, named Joe Hackett.  He drove, we called him Pop Dubrow,  he came to visit my family once, um, we moved to Queens and um,  it was right after the war, and it was summertime,  I was going to take the week off to paint, and uh, get the house in shape,  wallpaper the house,  George Dubrow said,  “no, I need you in the store,  he says, I’ll take care of it,.  So he sent a painter, a wallpaperer in,  my whole house painted and wallpapered.  He took care of it. He was good that way. 

Eve: What was the driver’s name again?

Henry: Hackett. Joe Hackett.  He drove Pops Dubrow all around, wherever he wanted to go,  until he passed away.  Cause Pop’s problem was, one day he couldn’t eat.  Forward’s newspaper, the Jewish newspaper,  caused it,  fell off the chair I understand, and he hurt himself, and ah, then he started deteriorating. 

Eve: That’s Benjamin Dubrow you’re calling Pop?

Henry: Old man Pop. 

Eve: I don’t remember him referred to by that name? That’s Benjamin Dubrow?

Henry: That’s what we, that’s what we…George, Georgie got killed in an automobile accident, that you know, in Florida, right?

Eve: I did know about George’s accident, yes.  So Pops Dubrow was George’s father?

Henry: Right, and he had no seatbelt on, there were no seatbelts in cars in those days, the door opened up and he fell out onto his head.  In fact, after that, I was in the Air Force, and I had a seat belt harness, memorbilia, so I put a seat belt in the front seat of my car.

Eve: So was there anything you didn’t like about working at Dubrow’s?

Henry: No….no,…it was…if I didn’t like it I wouldn’t be there, I would have done something else.  Near the end, it was getting real hard, when Paul took over,  the Eastern, I mean the King’s Highway store,  he had a lot on his mind, I can understand, the store was going down,  King’s Highway, his problem, New York…he was originally in the stock market,  he didn’t want to work in the restaurant,  he wanted to get away from, causing the debts in the family, Max Tobin, and George, and he ended up with the stores, more or less, and they had problems…

Eve: Yeah,  the impression I got was that the reason my grandfather got in was to help Paul Tobin out.

Henry: Right, right…he didn’t want that line of work.  That’s the impression we got. But he couldn’t help himself.

Eve: So after Dubrow’s, you said you left because you didn’t want to go to Manhattan, and you went to college cafeteria?

Henry: Yeah, cafeterias were dying out.  There were a lot of cafeterias, I could mention a lot of names, but they all passed on, one by one,  I was looking for a job and there were no more cafeterias, really,  end of the line so to speak, and of course around that time I was sixty years old, they were looking for young people to work in fast food places and I wasn’t interested in that, and uh I got a job at Lackland Food Service on the, on the Long Island, I used to take care of the colleges, like Queens College and Adelphi and things like that.  I worked at these colleges until I retired.

Eve: Is there any restaurant today that resembles Dubrow’s?

Henry: Not to my knowledge.  The only thing, the food, you might see at a banquet , you might see something like that.  But you gotta remember, this food was made like banquet styles but for a poorer clientele, without all the fancy trimmings and extra expense. There’s no stores around like that anymore. At Dubrow’s, everything came in, when you ordered like a meat, a whole half a cow was coming, or fish, a whole halibut, a hundred pound halibut. So you had the butcher, or somebody who knows how to cut the meat up. When I went to work for the colleges, everything came in packages. In boxes and packages all cut up.  So it was altogether different.  And the preservatives, that was another thing that was different.  Everything was frozen with preservatives,  and canned. I think that’s part of the trouble today, all the food is sold in little packages and prepared, and a lot of preservatives, and you wonder sometimes why people are getting sick, getting diseases, more than in the old days. In the old days everyting you had was fresh.  It was a big difference.

Eve: Are there other memories of Dubrow’s or other people you wanted to offer some stories about?

Henry: Yeah, 1940…the only time the stores were closed, you know, when they had Jewish holidays,  they closed, you know, overnight and we had to clean the whole store, top to bottom. It was the only time we ever closed. 

Eve: Those pictures of the cleaning crews were great. So was one of those when you were a dishwasher? 

Henry: Right, right, the first one, when I was a dishwasher there. Later on, after I came back from the service, the war,  I wasn’t looking to be,  I was a mechan - I went to school,  that’s why I worked at Dubrow’s while I went to aviation school as a mechanic, and I got my license as a mechanic, and then of course the war breaks out, and uh after the war there were so many mechanics and of course the aviation industry wasn’t going good, it was nothing doing, everybody, and I worked at Dubrow’s before, so I worked at Dubrow’s, never thinking I’m going to end up at Dubrow’s because I want for the fireman’s test, I passed the test for firemen in New York City but my cousin got hurt as a fireman so my wife said no, look for something else.  So years went on before you knew it and that’s the way it went.

Eve: Well, this has been great, as I said I may be in touch in the future with further questions.  Thank you so much.

Henry: If there’s anything else you want to know, just call. I’d be glad to tell you.

I did also get his permission to pass his information on to Marcia Bricker Halperin, who is continuing to work on getting a documentary made about Dubrow's and Brooklyn.

I love what he said about the value and uniqueness of having fresh made food, available for the masses at cheap prices.  It's what Michael Pollan has been on a mission to promote today - yet it seems we used to have it, and have lost it in the past fifty years.

Interview with Henry Jablonski, Part 2

Here's some more of the interview I did with Henry Jablonski.  This picks up where Part 1 leaves off.  

Eve: So how did you come to work at Dubrow’s? you said you started off in high school?

Henry: Oh, my father, for many years,  many years ago earlier, one of those pictures I think is 1940,  I’m there as a young boy, my father is there, my father worked in cafeterias, for many years.

Eve: What did your father do?  What was his name?

Henry:  Same name as mine, Henry. I was junior.  He was a counterman. Those days, you know cafeterias,  well I’ll explain cafeterias to you,  you think of food stores today,  they have a pretty bad reputation, everybody thinks cafeterias have bad food or what have you,  but the days of Dubrow’s and other cafeterias,  you gotta remember, it’s like home cooking, you can’t get food like that today, only in banquets or maybe a fancy hotel someplace,  like Dubrow’s, both Dubrow’s had all the carving stations,  all kinds of meat, pastrami, corned beef,  what do you call it, round cow,  it was carved right in front of you,  put it on your plate, the girl down the line would ask you what vegetables you want, It was a real meal, a home cooked meal, so to speak. Today, you don’t have that.  All the meals you get today are fast food,  all packaged and everything else, in those days, everything was more or less made fresh, the potatoes were peeled fresh, even the orange juice, we used to squeese oranges, we didn’t have Tropicana and things like that.  But the only trouble was, all these stores, cost, in those days, when labor was reasonable, you could afford it, we had a baker, a chef,  a butcher, besides your ordinary, uh,  people that work in these stores. 

On Eastern Parkway, it was so popular on a Sunday,  we had to let people, people waiting outside, when one of them came out, we had, uh, we had a doorman to let people in and out for awhile. It was a heyday.

Eve: Do you remember why Eastern Parkway closed?

Henry:  The neighborhood changed, after the war, a lot of people were there,  for instance, a lot of people you wouldn’t know but you know, doctors, actors,  businesspeople,  like Sam Levinson, but these people started moving out to Long Island after the way,  all these towns sprouted up, people moving away, getting away from the crowded tenements I guess,  moved out to these reasonable houses, out to the island,  the neighborhood changed.  It changed, and new people started moving in, and it was Central America or colored people moving in, I remember one time someone came up to George and George said,  “what can I do?  I can’t do anything about it.”  The neighborhood changed.  Eastern Parkway, you wouldn’t know it, but in those days, it was, they had trees and benches,  people used to sit there and read and talk, and talk and read,  no fear of being mugged or anything.  And in the end, neighborhoods change.  A little while ago, a couple years, I don’t know how many years, I heard they had abandoned cars on the street,  benches were broken up, and it deteriorated, so business went down.  That was Eastern Parkway,  for King’s Highway, it was also a business area, it was nice, but then they opened a big shopping center down further in Brooklyn,  and the business went that way.

Eve: What do you remember most about the experience about working there?

Henry: Well, what can I say, I remember in its heyday, when that part of Brooklyn was very nice,  then over the years I see it deteriorating in front of me,  first one store, then the other store, it was very depressing, after a while. But the country changes, so that’s the way it is today. 

Eve: Now, you mentioned that you actually served in the military as well? What years was that?

Henry: Yeah, the Air Force. ‘40 to ‘46.

Eve: What do you remember about the food at Dubrow’s, since it was all about the food?

Henry: The food was good.  All homemade, you can always remember the meats were all, the dairy, we used to make this rice pudding, the kugels,  things like that, it was made fresh,  You can’t find it any place today, I’ve looked for it. Or danish,  that’s another thing. We used to make danishes, with butter and everything else,  people used to know what time the danishes were ready and come out to buy it.  Today you buy danishes, boxed to serve, they don’t taste the same.  People today don’t realize what food used to taste like.  Fresh foods. Cause everything has changed so much. 

Eve: I’ve been very impressed by how many people remember very specific foods from Dubrow’s…

Henry: Another thing we used to do, when it came to Thanksgiving, we had Thanksgiving of couse, and at Eastern Parkway, we used to take orders at Thanksgiving, for dinner, not like today, in those days, “what time for you want your dinner?” 3 o’clock, 2 o’clock, it didn’t matter, anyway we’d have turkeys, made fresh about that time and all the vegetables are hot and fresh and the pie was just freshly baked, so when you took it out and took it home, it would, you would leave it right in the box, took it right home, so the person didn’t even have to heat it, and today, you go to Boston Market or some place, and they’re made ahead of time, it’s not the same.  Food’s not made the same way anymore.

Interview with Henry Jablonski, Part 1

I did a phone interview with Mr. Jablonski on March , 2010.   I am almost done transcribing it, but I thought I would go ahead and start posting it, probably over the course of three or four posts.

Eve: So the first question is, how long did you work at Dubrow’s?

Henry: How long? All together, about thirty years.  I worked there, eh, 1940…I was going to high school,  dishwashing, you know, for the summer,  and when I graduated I worked there for awhile,  and I was going to go to school and then a war broke out and I went into the service,  I didn’t go back to Dubrow’s until after the war, so in 1947, and uh, worked there until it closed.  Eastern Parkway closed, and then I worked at King’s Highway,  I didn’t work in New York, my son worked in New York, one summer. 

Eve: What was your son’s name?

Henry: Greg. Greg Jablonski.  They had another store called, they had a bakery, called Dubson’s. Interesting store, because it was a storefront, second story,  a floor down, and it had high ceilings, carved ceilings, and at the far end of the store was a big window so you could watch the bakers bake things…I’m not sure exactly what happened,  George got killed or something, turned it over to Adler or something and then they ran the Eastern Parkway store, but I think the bake shop and the Eastern Parkway store, we had a bake shop there until the end,  for the holidays and stuff like that.

Eve:  So did you work on King’s Highway until it closed as well?

Henry: Yes,  over on King’s Highway, for Mr. Tobin.  I worked for Mr. Tobin until he passed away. 

Eve:  Max Tobin?

Henry:  Yes, and his son, Paul Tobin…I do recall around that time, I was going home from work one day and I suppose I was mugged in the street.  I was in the hospital for a month or so and I came back, and this movie they made, Boardwalk, sort of a racial movie I guess, with all the college kids running around in that area, it wasn’t very popular,  but I have the whole review of the movie, which I will send you if you’re interested, when my sons come back for the holiday. 

Eve:   I definitely would like to see that.

Henry: Yeah, what was interesting about that was the entrance to King’s Highway store had a curved glass window,  you know, pretty much all the glass you see if flat, you know,  plate glass, well this plate glass was curved, expensive, so in the movie they, I guess these kids had to break this window,  I sort of forget for what reason they had to break this window,  it was in anger or whatever. So the movie company had to take this plate glass window and put over it this phony window that looked like the real thing,  so the window that was broken in the movie was not the real window, but a phony they put up.  It was a very expensive, curved window, from the floor to the ceiling. It was more or less based on the Dubrow’s family, I mean, they didn’t mention the names, but it was Janet Leigh and…I sort of forget the other people.

Eve:   So what positions did you work at the various stores? You said you were a dishwahser to start…

Henry:  Oh, I was a manager, when I was a kid I was a dishwasher, when I was in school.  I was a manager of both stores.  Assistant manager, manager, you know, there were a couple managers. Day manager, night manager,  we split shifts.

Eve:   So of both King’s Highway and of Eastern Parkway?

Henry: That’s right.  

Dubrow's at L.A. MoCA

I visited the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles today and guess what I stumbled upon?

This photograph was taken by Garry Winogrand, who was born in 1928 in New York and died in Tijuana, Mexico in 1984. It was titled "Kennedy-Nixon Presidential Campaign, New York, 1960."  I snapped this photo of it with my cell phone, but the resolution is no good.  However, here is the website for a gallery where the photo is shown in more detail, and it even says it's for sale.  I contacted the gallery and was told it costs $9600 (yikes!) but the curator did email me a copy of the photo.  Please do not re-distribute this photo without contacting the gallery directly for permission.

Dubrow's cleaning crew

Another photo from Henry Jablonski: This one is from the Eastern Parkway Dubrow's cleaning crew in 1950.  Dotty Jablonski notes that Dubrow's was closed on the day of the photo because it was a Jewish holiday.

New York Governor at Dubrow's

A little more information about Henry Jablonski.  I am going to schedule a phone call in the coming weeks, but for now here's what I know: 

Mr. Jablonski was born on October 4, 1922.   He worked at the Eastern Parkway Dubrow's from 1947 to 1973, and then at the King's Highway Dubrow's from 1973 to 1978.  

This photo was taken in the 1950's, and the caption says "Simon Stark Mrs. Dubrow Harriman."   However, with the help of Dotty Jablonski I learned that the man in the center of this photo (and in the previous photo) is none other than former New York Governor W. Averell Harriman. He served as governor from 1955-1958.  

Group shot

This is another photo from Henry Jablonski, who it turns out was a manager at both Eastern Parkway and King's Highway.   The captions indicate that the woman sitting in the left corner is "Mrs. Dubrow," which either refers to Rose Dubrow (Benjamin Dubrow's wife) or Fannie Dubrow (George Dubrow's wife).  My guess would be the latter, which would make her Irwin Dubrow's mother.   The Asian man behind her is Nick Yang.  The man on Nick's left is Irwin Dubrow, and the man in the right corner of the picture is Henry Jablonski himself, along with Phil Podell.  The man at the center of the picture is listed as just "Harriman" but turns out to be a former New York governor.

There's obviously a number of people in this shot who aren't named.  Can anyone identify any of them?  If so, add a comment and let us know.

Photo of George Dubrow

Here's another photo from Henry Jablonski's collection. The caption underneath says "Julius Steinberg George Dubrow" -- so I am not sure who the other man is or who the woman behind the counter is.  If anyone out there know, add a comment please.  I'll also be updating these posts with more information from Henry's wife as I get it.

The man in the suit is George Dubrow, and this photo was taken in 1950.  I think he looks a lot like Benjamin Dubrow.  If you click on the "family" tag beneath this post you can find an older post with a photo of the whole Dubrow family, which shows how much George and Benjamin looked alike.

Pastry counter at Dubrow's

I was contacted by Dotty, the wife of Henry Jablonski, who was a manager of Dubrow's for 30 years.  She sent me some truly amazing photos which I will be posting here one by one, while I try to get more stories and information from her and from Mr. Jablonski about the photos and about his experiences.  

I'm guessing this photo is from the Eastern Parkway Dubrow's, since that's what the card in the corner says.   While some of the photos included labels for some of the people, this one did not.  

What does Brooklyn need next?

Found this little blurb in New Yorker magazine (Feb 2, 2004):

THE BIG QUESTION
Borough Haul
The Nets, a top Zagat’s pick, maybe even Miranda—what does Brooklyn need next?

Nell Campbell, performer: “Paris—the city, not the hotel heiress. We’ve got a lot of French folk here; why not bring the whole goddamn city? Besides, we need some older architecture.”

Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn borough president: “Bring back Ebinger’s Bakery, Jahn’s Ice Cream Parlor, and Dubrow’s Cafeteria. If not, I’ll settle for Trader Joe’s and the Queen Mary II.”

Mike Albo, writer: “Maybe a flowery communal space with acoustic guitars and brambles and pot for everyone who doesn’t like sports. And thirteen more Starbucks?”

John Turturro, actor: “One thing we need no more of is power plants.”

Gavin Mcinnes, co-founder, Vice: “A half-decent jukebox in Williamsburg? All there is now is Janis Joplin, Morphine, and Santana.”

Pardon the makeover

I was noticing that in the old Blogger template the posts were getting really squished together.  Besides, it's been 5 years since I started this blog, it was due for a makeover, right?

Let me know what you think. It looks so different I'm a little unsettled. Too weird? Should I keep it or try another one?

Miami Dubrow's listing

This is a listing from Info: This Week in Greater Miami.  It calls itself "an official publication of the Miami Beach hotel association" and this listing was in the Vol. 1, Number 1 edition, dated November 18, 1950.  The text reads:

"Dubrow's Lincoln Cafeteria  330 Lincoln Road  58-271  Miami Beach branch of the New York chain. Nationally famous for the most tempting hot sandwiches, cold plates, and steaks and chops. "

Photo of Miami Dubrow's

This photo was sent to me by my cousin, Joe Adler. He received it from Ray Fisher, who took it in February of 1952. This is a rare photo of the Dubrow's Cafeteria in Miami Beach. It was located in what is now a hot area of Miami Beach. Back when I was a child and visiting my grandparents, I would walk down Lincoln Road to get to the beach. There wasn't much there then - including Dubrow's. The last Dubrow's to close was the Manhattan location, and that was in 1985, when I was only 12.

An email from a former Dubrow's employee

I love how people come out of the woodwork to share their Dubrow's connections. The fact that so many people are sitting at hoe Googling Dubrow's Cafeteria, 24 years after the last one closed, tells me how much it meant to people.

This one comes from a woman named Sonia Valentin:

"I was so surprised to Google Dubrow's Cafeteria and find this blog...wonderful...I was a 15 or 16 yr old Puerto Rican student in high school in the Bronx who got a part time job in the Manhattan cafeteria. I worked for four hours from 2-6 pm and was paid $1.50 per hour, and I worked Monday through Friday, and all day Saturday. I was in charge of the "freebies" station where customers got their juices, cole slaw, and applesauce. I was next to Ruth, Jewish, the cashier...and on the other side was Al Tabenkin, Jewish, another cashier...who became a dear friend for many, many years...i went to his 70th birthday party with my husband some time ago. I remember Joyce, African American, who bussed the tables with her daughter - whose name eludes me. I remember Bob, the manager, with the dirty blond hair and beautiful blue eyes - I had a crush on him. Another was Ben the hot meats and sandwich slicer - I was right next to him, and Angelo. This was the first time I ever tasted brisket of beef, and I recall there were some meats the employees were not supposed to eat but good old Ben, a Puerto Rican, always let me have a taste and made small sandwiches for me. I love eating matzo ball soup since this is where I had it for the first time. Angelo, another Puerto Rican, worked behind me and used to take orders for broiled fish, he was so kind to me always in those days when I first started there. Chen was chinese, and the manager of the food department and I remember when we went to the second or third floor to change into our clean, and crisp white uniforms with white shoes and white nylons, everyone was always cooking under his direction -- I was told he had many children. Felix, African American, was a counter man and was the fastest food server in the union and was always so informative about the foods, etc. I think the floor manager was Joe, Jewish....not sure of his name. I got this job via Maria, another Puerto Rican who went to school with me, had long blond hair, freckles, and lived in the same neighborhood as I did, and she worked the soda station.

I remember the day I came to work and found out that Irwin Dubrow killed himself. I believe it happened on a Saturday night and I found out when I went to work that Monday. It was a sad day, and people at work did not want to talk about it, and we were shocked that someone so vibrant, and young was gone. But I recall Irwin was always the quiet type, had wavy dark brown hair, and always said hello. "

Sonia would very much like to hear from other people who worked at Dubrow's from 1965-1968, when she worked there. Contact me via the blog and I can put you in touch with her.

Photo of Dubrow's

This photo was submitted by Leslie Wong. It's on his Flickr page and his blog, and he has graciously allowed me to re-post it here. What a great shot and a great find! Not only a great shot of fabulous mural at the Manhattan location, but of some customers eating there at the time.

More reader feedback (Glen)

Another reader, Glen, writes in enthusiastically to say how much he loved Dubrow's:

"Hi! I think it's great that you have your website about Dubrow's!

I used to eat there often in 1982. I'm lucky that I got to experience the place; I just made it, too. Little did I know that it would close three years later.

WHY did it close? The place was ALWAYS packed. At least it was in 1982. That's when I commuted into Manhattan every day to work.

The food at Dubrow's was GREAT! I never went to a place where they absolutely HEAPED the food on your plate, and it was DAMN GOOD FOOD, too, and the prices were reasonable. It was one of the best values in town.

I can't tell you how much Dubrow's and other places like the Horn & Hardart automats, and other cafeterias.

Manhattan has become an exclusive playground for the rich yuppies. You can't even LIVE in Manhattan anymore unless you're a millionaire. I have friends that both grew up on York Avenue, where they lived in tenements. They were VERY poor. NOW, those "TENEMENTS" would be unaffordable. They both live in Queens, which is where I live and where I grew up. They LOVED living on York Avenue, but, as they say, you can't go home again. It really is true.

It sickens me how New York City is losing its soul. You can't even get an egg cream in New York City anymore. I mean, what's more New York City than an EGG CREAM???????? What a damn shame.

There's nowhere in Manhattan left to eat. What's the choice? There's McDonald's, and there's fancy restaurants, and there's NOTHING IN BETWEEN now in Manhattan. I guess this is just another sign of the shrinking of the middle-class in America. Pretty soon, America will be just like all those other countries: The very rich and the very poor, and that's all! Nothing in between.

As huge chain restaurants and fast food restaurants take over both the city and our nation, as well, we are losing our national identity. New Yorkers, whether they be from Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, or the Bronx (I never even THINK about Staten Island because I've only driven through there!!!!) are losing their identity. New York City, just like the rest of the nation, is becoming homogenized and watered down, whether it be accents, mom and pop stores, and other things. If you ask in Queens, where I live, if there's a luncheonette nearby, you'd be looked at like you just came from Mars. They don't KNOW what a luncheonette is, they don't KNOW what an egg cream is, it's unbelievable.

Dubrow's, The Garment District, egg creams, luncheonettes, cafeterias; it's all leaving or has already left the culture of this once-great city.

It's sad to see this happen to the city where I grew up."

What I told Glen in an email is my best understanding of why Dubrow's closed: The price of real estate in Manhattan skyrocketed and made it no longer possible to make enough money off of Dubrow's to keep it open. If people have been to that stretch of Seventh Avenue in midtown Manhattan, they wouldn't be surprised by the theory, and it seems to be generally supported by the articles I have found about the closing.

What is less clear to me is why the locations in Brooklyn or Miami closed, although I would hazard a guess to say it was also about money. It usually is, and especially when a place was so well loved you can't imagine any reason to close it.

Ask and you shall receive!

Marcia Bricker Halperin has unearthed this photo of Nissa, the woman about whom reader Julia asked in my last post. Marcia confirms that Nissa was in fact a busser and says this photo was taken in about 1977. Perhaps some day Marcia will find photos of Julia's grandfather as well.

Reader seeks information

I received an email from Julia, who sends this letter:

Good morning, Eve.
I hope my email finds you well. I stumbled across your blog when doing a search on Dubrow's Cafeteria for my grandfather. He worked for your family's Garment District location for decades and really held the management, owner, and staff in familial regard. When it closed in the mid-eighties, my grandfather regretfully lost contact with one particular employee who treated him like a dad. Her name was possibly Nissa Morales Orivera or some derivative of that. Being 84 years old, my grandfather's memory is understandably not 100%. His name is Danny Solomos. He was loved by many. I am hoping that amongst the archived information you have gathered about your family's business, you may be able to unearth some record of this woman or even my grandfather. He wants to reconnect with her before "he goes" as he puts it.

Any help you could offer would be stellar. Some other helpful details he remembers are that she would now be between 55-65 years old. Her mother Rosa also worked for that Dubrow's and they both hailed from the Morris Park area of the Bronx.

Thanks so much!

Anyone recall Nissa or Danny from Dubrow's in Manhattan? In a subsequent email, Julia went on to say that she thinks Nissa worked as a cashier, while her grandfather worked as a baker and possibly a cook for about 25 years.

Matchbooks from Dubrow's

Purchased these off of eBay from two different sellers. The more faded one lists the Eastern Parkway (Brooklyn) and Lincoln Road (Miami) locations on them, and was dated as a 1940's matchbook. The third image is the inside of the more faded matchbook cover - war bonds! Proof that it it is from the 1940's. I love it. I especially love the use of "U'r" which allows it to spell out "DUBROW." The less faded one did not come with a date or have anything printed on the inside of the cover.

A letter from the son of Irwin's best friend

With permission, I am reprinting the email I received from the son of Irwin Dubrow's best friend. I think you can hear the tragedy of the family in his words, and he asked that his name not be reprinted in the blog.

"I am the son of Ira R Legon. My father was Irwin's best friend. The two grew up in a Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn in the 1940's. He is my Uncle Irwin, as I have known him my entire early years, plus I know his wife Annie, adopted daughter Joanne, and of course Barbara.

I remember the day he commited suicide at the 7th avanue operation. It was a very dark day for the Legon family indeed. My Father said to me that the pistol had "slipped" thus putting the end to his life. I have many stories about your great uncle, however they will be for you and your family, and not your blog space. In 1968 your great uncle had a powder blue Jaguar XKE, he let me drive the car (in his lap). I have always felt that this was the most beautiful car manufactured. He lived in Upper Saddle River, NJ. Annie was there (we still use her marinade for chicken), as was Joanne, and Barbara was a newborn.

Twenty years ago we had Annie and Barabra to our home for Christmas dinner. (Not bad for some Jews). I remember Barbara crying as she realized the significance of the situation.

Now for you...We have many pictures of my Uncle Irwin, along with my father. They date back all the way to there Camp Winadou days in the early 1940's. The symbiotic analogy might help you as that camp was in Massachussetts. My family will be more than happy to send you all the pictures that we have, with the regards to your deceased family members. Uncle Irwin would want you to have these photographs.

We have reconsidered, and will allow you to post our message as a blog. My request is that you do not use my name, however everything else is for your choosing.

Last night my mother and I went through my parents' wedding album and found many pictures with your great uncle. We have an exorbanate amount of boxes to go through to find all we can about my Uncle Irwin. (I wish my Father was still living to give you the "skinny" on Irwin). I know for a fact that none of the photography includes any Dubrow's deli or restaurant operations. These are family photos and are cherished deeply. We will make copies once we compile all the pictures we have.

I remember all the operations, NY (7th ave), Alfie's (Irwin's restaurant), and of course the Miami operation, (to) which my grandparents always took the grandchildren.

I still can describe Alfie's, sitting at the 7th ave shop, and of course Miami. Did you know that your great uncle was also a Mason? I have the picture right in front."

I did *NOT* know George was a Mason. Fascinating. I love that I found what seems may have been the exact type of car George Dubrow owned (and perhaps died in) via the internet. I am looking forward to seeing pictures my new friend unearths, and have also discussed scheduling an interview with him this fall.

Finding more Dubrow relatives

Have I told you the story of how I discovered a cousin lived a mile away from me, but we never knew the other existed?

That is how the Dubrow family seems to work. There are so many Dubrow family members wandering this country - perhaps the world - and little by little they are finding their way to each other, often by way of this blog.

Alice Gruber Phinzy is the cousin I discovered this way. She is, it turns out, the granddaughter of Ruth Gruber, who is my grandmother's younger sister. Ruthie and Sylvia are the youngest two children of Benjamin and Rose Dubrow, and the only two born in this country. In a stranger coincidence still, Alice knows my hairdresser - not only that, she nannies for her son! The world is a small place.

I recently got an email from Richard Hume, who informed me that he is the grandson of Jacob Solowey, who is the younger brother of "Rasel Soloway Dubrow" - who I know as Rose Dubrow. The woman who married my great grandfather, who started Dubrow's Cafeteria. As he points out, this makes him my second cousin, once removed, but as his family did not see the Dubrow family much, I never even realized Rose HAD siblings. It never occurred to me.

Finally, I also received an email from a man who reports that Irwin Dubrow (manager of Dubrow's, son of George Dubrow, and grandson of Benjamin) was his father's best friend, and they were close family friends until Irwin's death. I am currently negotiating about whether I can share any of their family's stories here, but suffice to say there is a lot more to be learned about my family's history...

As I have said to many people, and probably here on the blog before, the exciting part about this process is watching the connections unfold. I am reading The People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks, which is all about the unfolding of history, layer after layer. That's what this is all about.

Finding old photos and long lost relatives

Marcia Bricker Halperin found this photo in a 1971 high school yearbook. The photographer was uncredited. What a find! Anyone out there attend James Madison High School in Brooklyn, NY?

Meanwhile, Marcia has also received great news - she has gotten a first influx of funding from the Brooklyn Arts Council Community Arts Regrant Program for a documentary about New York cafeterias. She'll cover Dubrow's, and utilize things from this blog, as well as some of the other New York cafeterias that people have recalled fondly over the years I've been running this blog.

Finally, I discovered a long lost relative: Barbara Dubrow Faerman. She's the daughter of Irwin Dubrow, former manager of Dubrow's until his untimely suicide. She writes: "I did go to the cafeteria a few times and some of the old time staff took extra special care of me and showed me around the inner workings of the cafeteria. I remember seeing portraits of Benjamin, George and my father on the wall...I believe that my aunt Helene got some of them when the cafeteria closed. I have a cross stich that was made for me by one of the staff when I was born."

I'm hoping she can find that cross-stitch made by a Dubrow's staff member! I have been in touch with Helene but have not in New York, where she might have some of the memorabilia to which Barbara referred.

"Dubrow's was like an indoor sidewalk cafe"

Found this reference to Dubrow's in the historical novel Subway Music by Reynold Joseph Paul Junker.

"Now I paused and looked left and right again.
'We used to go but I wanted to step around here to the left a minute. I wanted to see something else first. I wanted to see if Dubrow's is still here.'

I turned left. She followed. We walked the short distance to where Dubrow's used to be on the corner of King's Highway.

Dubrow's was gone from the corner of King's Highway. Dubrow's had been a single story cafeteria with floor to ceiling windows looking out over the sidewalk. Dubrow's was like an indoor sidewalk cafe. Families when to Dubrow's to enjoy "home cooking." We went to Dubrow's to stare and make creative faces and simulated retching noises through the windows at families enjoying their "home cooking."

'There used to be a Dubrow's Cafeteria here,' I said.'The firemen from the firehouse on 14th street used to send us there for takeout food - mostly veal cutlet sandwiches. There was no fast food in those days.'"

Still here

Man, it's been a long time since I updated this blog. Sorry about that. It's been a pretty difficult couple months for me personally.

I've received a couple comments from readers I thought I'd share:

Rick Festa writes: "I am Leo Martin's grandson and my memories of Dubrow's are so vivid...The stuffed roasted chicken really stands out in my mind, and have never found a stuffing like that since. I spent many hours there with my Grandfather as a young boy, and i can still remember that special smell of the place. I still remember the faces of the cooks and the cashiers and that cool change returner attached to the side of the register..."

Deborah Berman writes to ask about the recipe for "the most memorable bran muffins in the world." As always, I do not have any recipes - I wish I did! So far I haven't found anyone else who does, either.

Dan Russell writes to ask about a Dubrow's in Bensonhurst and another "famous one on 86th street" - I am not sure both of these he is recalling are Dubrow's, but the latter is probably the one on Eastern Parkway. Anyone remember a Dubrow's in Bensonhurst?

Finally, I also found an excerpt in The World on a Plate by Joel Denker about Dubrow's:

"Cafes also became center of Jewish cooking and companionship. The Garden cafeteria, next door to the Jewish Forward, was a gathering place for reporters, actors, intellectuals, and ethnics who worked in the neighborhood. Like an eastern Europe cafe, it buzzed with conversation and animated debate. Places like the Garden encouraged a breed of ethnic socializers that Isaac Singer, who was one of them, dubbed cafeterianiks.

The Garden, which opened in 1931, was organized like a cafeteria. Customers decided on their order, and the counterman punched the appropriate code on their ticket. There were the classic dairy choices - blintzes, varnishkes, soups. The display case revealed a tantalizing plates of smoked whitefish, herring and apple and other salads, cheese, and coffee cakes. Many diners were content with a piece of cake and tea or a bowl of chopped vegetables and fruit mixed with sour cream.

As the Lower East Side rag trade withered away, Jewish cafeterias and luncheonettes sprang up in the midtown Garment Center. Dubrow's, one of the most famous cafeterias, served up pirogen, gefilte fish, and roast chicken to cutters, jobbers, and pressmen. Irving Moskowitz, a Dubrow's Cafeteria customer for over thirty years, remembered it as a warm gathering place: 'It was more than just a place to eat. It was a meeting place. A place. You didn't get to know them [other customers]. But they were people, and you sort of knew them.'"

Interview with Helene D. Grossman (Part 2)

1. What was your impression of running Dubrow's, for Irwin and for George? Did it seem to bring them joy? Did it seem stressful? Which store(s) did they run and for how long?

"Irwin stepped up to the plate to run Seventh Avenue, and our family’s interests in Eastern Parkway and Florida, after George’s death. He had worked there prior to that but was not at all set on committing to the restaurant business as a career, despite having majored in Hotel and Restaurant Administration at Cornell. I believe his reluctance was due to a number of factors typical of Jewish sons in the 1950’s, including wanting to apply newer management models and other knowledge that they has acquired in college to their family business with their dads not being convinced this was needed and in Irwin’s case, issues relating to the fact that George was somewhat of a legend in the field.

Nonetheless he ran Seventh Avenue, and together with Irving Kaplan acquired Toby’s Cafeterias (3, I think) in Miami in the 1960's, which Irving ran. [Note: Toby’s were in non-Jewish neighborhoods and served Southern style food, with favorites being chicken dumplings and black eye peas.]

In the mid 1960s Irwin opened Dubrow’s Takeout Shop (exact name?), on Third Avenue and 74th Street in Manhattan, which Leonard [Irwin's brother] ran. It offered many packaged, prepared foods for which Dubrows was known but it was just a bit ahead of its time. That area and all around NYC is now filled with that type of prepared food take out shops. Irwin subsequently opened, ran and expanded Alfie's restaurant at that location. Irwin came to enjoy the business more as time went on but differently than George. It was not his whole life to nearly the same extent as it was George’s. Irwin ran the Seventh Avenue cafeteria and Alfies until his death in 1970.

Irving Kaplan and Paul Tobin purchased the Seventh Avenue cafeteria in 1971(?), with Paul running the day to day operation, and Irving’s oversight and active involvement in all management decisions and regular on-site participation about every 6-8 weeks. The property was purchased by the bank adjacent to the cafeteria, which planned to expand/build a garage, and the cafeteria closed. The expansion/garage never went forward and today, an OTB parlor is on this site!"

Interview with Helene D. Grossman (Part 1)

I caught up with my cousin Helene a couple weeks ago, and she graciously took the time to answer some questions about Dubrow's for me, in a somewhat formal written interview. I'll be posting her responses over a series of posts.

Just for reference: Helene is the daughter of George Dubrow, sister of Irwin Dubrow, and granddaughter of Benjamin Dubrow, all of whom managed Dubrow's at different times.

1. What was your impression of running Dubrow's, for Irwin and for George? Did it seem to bring them joy? Did it seem stressful? Which store(s) did they run and for how long?

"For George, Dubrow’s was his life. He loved every aspect of running the “stores”. George had an incredible joie de vivre, was very much a people person and enjoyed interacting with his employees at all levels as well as with his customers. He shared their happinesses, trials and tribulations and lent his ear and advice and often, financial support. I still have a ring that a customer gave him in appreciation of his kindnesses. His measure of quality control was a random tablespoon of prepared foods, especially his favorites, before they left the kitchen…he was a bit rotund and we all thought this was his best excuse not to stick to a diet! He was not a morning person, and usually went to work at around noon, staying until midnight, the exception being most Friday nights, when he came home for dinner, under duress from my mother, usually returning to work after that. George’s personal and business philosophy was that you are only as good as tomorrow, not yesterday. I suspect that fed his drive for success. There certainly were stressful situations at times, particularly dealing with the unions….I think there were 6 or 7. "

She goes on to provide some more detail about George's history at Dubrow's, which I found very helpful:

"George opened and initially ran all of the cafeterias which included Dubrows Eastern Parkway (Utica Avenue), Dubrows Kings Highway ( 16th St), Dubrow's Lincoln Road (Miami Beach), Dubrow's Seventh Avenue (Manhattan) and Dubson's Restaurant (on Utica Avenue around the corner from Dubrows Eastern Parkway Cafeteria). "

Much more to come - about Irwin, about Max Tobin, and more! Stay tuned.

Reader feedback (Danny, GK)

Lately, I've been hearing from a lot of people about the various Dubrow's foods they miss. It's all about the food, which makes sense, since first and foremost, Dubrow's was a restaurant. But if there's one thing we've learned in the past three and a half years I've been keeping this blog, it's that it's so much more.

Danny Karron writes:
"Our (my brother Abe and I) dad Edward Karron was (best?) friends with Irwin Dubrow. My brother and I were ruminating if we could id Irwin from a bunch of wedding pictures Abe had scanned. I found you from the Dubrows Cafeteria wiki entry which pointed to your web site. I'm getting hungry just thinking about the place. I think I still remember the stuffed cabbage or the Blintzes. I'm getting indigestion thinking of them at the same time."

GK commented on an old post:
"My favorite was the cheese blintzes with sour cream. I have never had better. My sister would always get the cottage cheese and sour cream with vegetables. I also loved making lemon soda with the seltzer water dispenser and free lemons from the fish counter."

Dubrow's Photo

This is another photo taken by the always amazing Marcia Bricker Halperin. It's on display in what looks like a fantastic exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum.

Update: In the past three or four days, I have spoken to Helene and Leonard Dubrow, children of George Dubrow and siblings of Irwin Dubrow. I have also heard from my cousin Geoffrey Green, on the "other" side of the family...all of whom wanted to let me know that this exhibit and in particular, this photo, was featured in the New York Times this week. I am delighted that it is getting such good coverage and attention - and I am thrilled that of all the photos Marcia took for the exhibit, the Dubrow's photo was selected for the article. What wonderful attention it has brought to the memory of our beloved Dubrow's.

More reader feedback (Sue)

Received another email a couple days ago:

"My father who is 84 was born and raised in Brooklyn. He often reminisces fondly about Dubrow's and the shrimp salad he ate there with his friends. Evidently your great grandfather's restaurant plays a large part in the happy memories of many people, something which I am sure you are proud. I was wondering if you had access to the recipe for shrimp salad served there. I would like to make it for Father's Day for my Dad. He thinks it had mayo, vinegar, cream in the dressing. Thanks so much!!"

Anyone recall the Dubrow's shrimp salad recipe?

I would love to track down or hear from some of the cooks at Dubrow's, and put together a collection of recipes for popular dishes. Over the years, there have been a number of requests for recipes.

More reader feedback (MacKenzie)

More feedback from a reader! I love hearing from people.

MacKenzie Allen writes:

"Hi, there...I found my way to your website while looking for old photos of Dubrow's. I was telling my wife and friends about it. I grew up in Brooklyn (1940s--50s) and lived at Avenue "O" and East 16th St...a few blocks up from Dubrow's. When we were kids at Cunningham Jr. H.S. we used to go there on lunch hour. A real treat was to "take out" an order of french fries in a brown paper bag. We'd put ketchup in the bag and shake it around to distribute it. Messy, but delicious. It was always a treat to go to Dubrow's...great memories of a far better time."

Questions from readers

Jeff writes with recollections and a question about the Miami Beach Dubrow's Cafeteria. I know very little about this, but I thought I'd see if anyone else did. I'm pretty sure I remember going to Dubrow's on Lincoln Road, but honestly, I was so young (I was 12 in 1985 when the last Dubrow's Cafeteria closed for good) I could be mixing up Manhattan and Miami, since I went to both places at different times in my childhood.

Jeff writes:
"I found your blog site while trying to research the Dubrow's located on Lincoln Road in the 1950's through sometime in 1963 (?).

I'd moved to Miami Beach as a youngter when my family relocated from Brooklyn around October of 1963, and at that time the Dubrow's on Lincoln Road was closed and had a "Bankrupt" sign hanging on the inside of the doors. A couple of years later, the location reopened as "New Dubrow's, Inc."

Did your family reopen it, or was it run independent of them?

Also, a dear, departed friend of mine was in the sign business down here since 1948. He did work for the Lincoln Road Cafeteria - the original name of where Dubrow's ws located. Did the family purchase that location, or originally run it as the Lincoln Road Cafeteria?"

Also, Marcia has a question about the picture of Kennedy in front of Dubrow's:
"I believe this photo of Kennedy was taken on the 16th Street side in front of Craig's Bake Shops which was across the street from Dubrows. Maybe they had the rally on the side street or brought Kennedy into Dubrow's through the kitchen entrance which was there. Can Ms. Cohen confirm this? My mom says she remembers my Dad went to see Kennedy there that night. "

Kennedy with Max Tobin

Sanda Bragman Cohen, the woman who mailed me the photos of Kennedy at the King's Highway Dubrow's, had this to say about the photos:

"They were taken by a photographer hired by Max Tobin who owned Dubrow's on Kings Highway. He is the man standing behind President Kennedy. His wife was Minnie Dubrow Tobin who was Sylvia Kaplan's sister. Minnie Tobin died in 1957. My mother, Mary Bragman, is the only woman in the picture. She married Max Tobin in 1968 when my father had been dead for four years. My father is the man that can only be partially seen standing behind Max Tobin. The photography studio was named Renard and it was located in Brooklyn. As far as I know the pictures were not copyrighted by anyone. They belonged to Max Tobin, because he paid for them. They were given to me by my mother just before she died. Until then they were in her home. The pictures were taken in October, 1960 when Kennedy was campaigning. Many politicians made a stop at Dubrows because it was the most popular place in that neighborhood (Flatbush), but I do not have any other pictures. The two men sitting next to Kennedy were Brooklyn politicians, and I used to know their names, but I have forgotten. Standing behind my mother, kind of in the shadows, is Carmine DeSapio (he is the man with the sunglasses) who was a powerful politician at the time. I remember that Kennedy wanted a steak and salad for dinner, which was provided for him. It was not the usual Dubrows food. I also remember that my mother was answering the special phones that had been connected for Kennedy and in that picture she is handing him a message from Robert Kennedy. My parents wanted me to have my picture taken with Kennedy, but I was fifteen and had a pimple, so I refused. Needless to stay I lived to regret that decision. However, I did wear a campaign button that said, "If I were 21 I would vote for Kennedy." I would have too!"

JFK campaigning at Dubrow's

Several other readers have talked about their recollections of JFK campaigning at the King's Highway Dubrow's. Reader Sanda Cohen has submitted a couple fabulous photos which commemorates this event. This is the first of those photos.

More reader feedback (Darryl)

I've been getting a bunch of emails from readers, which is just fabulous. I can follow the stats as to where people are when they're reading, but I have to hear from you to know WHO you are, and what Dubrow's means to you.

Darryl writes:
"My friend Marty and I would spend many a Friday night at Dubrow's on
Kings Highway. My particular favorite was the vegetable cream cheese
on a bagel. The counterman would dunk the bagel into a tray full of
chopped vegetables that would then stick to the cream cheese. One
night we met an elderly woman named Libby Siegel who had the peculiar
ability to spell any word backwards. We tried to trick her with extra
long words but she never missed.

When I was younger I did go the the Dubrow's on Eastern Parkway and
Utica. Unless I am mistaken, I drove by that corner about ten years
ago and saw a Dubrow's sign still hanging on the Utica Avenue side of
the restaurant. It was an art deco style possibly made of glass . It
was surrounded by all the billboards of the newer stores and was
barely viewable. I wonder if it is possibly still there.

If there are any artifacts around from the restaurant I would
certainly love to be able to get one. I did have one of those white
sailor type hats the countermen wore. The picture of the tray brought
back some memories.

Thank you. My life in Brooklyn during the fifties was a special time
for me and Dubrows was a nice part of it."

More reader feedback (Marty)

Received another email recently, this one from Marty:

Hi Eve,

I was taking a little trip down memory lane and decided
to google Dubrow's. Your great grandfather had a
great cafeteria. I frequented the Dubrow's on Kings
Highway in Brooklyn for many years with my friends.
We would meet late at night for something to eat after
we took home our girlfriends. Sometimes we would just
go there late on a Friday night if we had nothing else
to do. We were in our twenties, while most of the
people there were senior citizens. The seniors loved
it there. It was a place for them to go if they just
wanted to talk to someone. We would hang out and talk
for an hour or two before heading home. Dubrows had
the best rice pudding! I moved out of Brooklyn many
years ago, but still have fond memories of Dubrow's

After I got married, I found out that my wife's late
uncle was a counter man at Dubrow's for many years.

Thanks for the website. It brought back nice
memories.

Marty

Thank you, Marty, for reading and for sharing your memories! I love hearing from people.

A request from a reader (Joe)

I received an email from a reader. Joe asks about another cafeteria very close to Dubrow's:

Yes, it was called the "Famous Cafeteria" and it was very similar to Dubrows, but it was located in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn on 86th St. and now I see that it was located directly across from Dubrows...Maybe you can post a request in your blog?

Here's a quote from another Brooklyn Blog....

"And diagonally across the intersection from Dubrow's was the Famous, a dairy restaurant where delicious dishes like perrogies and sour cream were served. What would today's nutritionists say about that. Better yet, what would they say about "gribbinus" (transliteration), a delicacy made from fried chicken fat. "

http://www.geocities.com/buddychai2/Brooklyn/RememberWhen2.html

Anyone have any more information about Famous Cafeteria to help Joe out?

Amoeba-like architecture

Found this in another New York Times article:

"It is no accident that it took more than a generation for Art Deco architecture to be appreciated, and similarly, this is why such 50's extravaganzas as the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach seem far less disturbing now than when they were new. It is not perverse taste, it is that they have become a part of the landscape we expect to see, and thus derive a curious kind of comfort from. So, too, with such an oddity as the interior of Dubrow's Cafeteria on Seventh Avenue in the garment district, which has those swirling, amoebalike shapes characteristic of 50's interiors. I walked past it the other day and was shocked to realize how that room, long an object of derision, is beginning to take on a certain appeal."

(Paul Goldberger, New York Times, July 30, 1981)

It's interesting to go back and see how differently things were perceived at different times. I don't think people would think the architecture at the Dubrow's in Manhattan is particularly unusual today. But clearly back then, at least this guy thought it was odd. And of course this is what he's saying - but now, over twenty years later, I think this just proves his point even more.

"Aspired to opulent excellence"

"When winter came, the candy stores and cafeterias replaced parks as forums to debate politics and art. People gathered at candy stores "to discuss politics and unionism." Local kids "made pocket change by hanging out at Leboff's candy store [one of five on Charlotte street], and calling people to the phone." Hoffman's Cafeterias on Pitkin, Flatbush, and Brighton Beach Avenues also entered the radical element. (Irving) Howe recalled that "in the winter, when the Bronx is gray and icy, there were cafeterias in which the older comrades, those who had jobs or were on WPA, bought coffee while the rest of us filled the chairs." Other cafeterias, like Dubrow's or Garfield's in Brooklyn, aspired to opulent elegance. Garfield's dubbed itself "a cafeteria of refinement." Located on the corner of Church and Flatbush Avenues, diagonally across from the Reformed Dutch Protestant Church, Garfield's boasted an interior decorated with mosaics done in Art Moderne style. Dubrow's, a dairy cafeteria, also served as a neighborhood meeting spot with its attractive location by the elevated station, on a shopping street like King's Highway."

(At Home In America: Second Generation New York Jews, by Deborah Dash Moore, 1981)

Now, a few questions about this. First, could Garfield's and Dubrow's had the same tagline to describe themselves? Because this post indicates that Dubrow's advertised itself as being "a cafeteria of refinement" - yet here it says Garfield's used that line.

Furthermore, this post indicates that the Dubrow's on King's Highway had a very modern decor, using mosaic. This is how the author (who cites a number of different sources for this particular passage, including the reputable Irving Howe) describes Garfield's. Could Garfield's and Dubrow's BOTH have had mosaic in their decor? Or is she mixing up Garfield's with Dubrow's?

Where Dubrow's Used To Be

I visited the site of the Manhattan Dubrow's this fall when I was in New York City. When I came home, I found this article which referenced when the Offtrack Betting place opened up where it used to be.

"With a little luck, a new offtrack betting branch will open this fall in mid-Manhattan. But before the first $2 bet is placed, the Offtrack Betting Corporation will have spent $739,000 in rent for a branch that took almost two years to open.

Present and former officials of the agency clash over who is responsible for the delays in opening the branch at Seventh Avenue and 38th Street, on the site of the old Dubrow's cafeteria. But the officials, from two OTB administrations involved in the project, agree on one point: the abnormal costs will reduce the OTB's overall profits this year and the revenues it can give the city."

(New York Times, April 9, 1992)

This is a cool sculpture currently found in the area which pays homage to the Jewish garment workers of yore.

Dubrow's in Miami

I have found very few references to the Dubrow's Cafeteria in Miami, although I remember it vaguely, from my childhood. It was right on Lincoln Road, which is a stone's throw from where my grandparents lived for most of my childhood. I spent much of my childhood visiting from Texas, staying with my grandparents, and walking from their apartment all the way down Lincoln Road till I got to the beach. Back then, it was pretty dead - now it's become a hotspot with clubs and trendy restaurants.

I found this in the book Catskill Culture: A Mountain Rat's Memories of the Great Jewish Resort Area by Phil Brown:

"From all their years in the Catskills, these Mountain Rats were the insiders who really knew the scene. People had their favorite local bars and restaurants for hanging out after a day of hard work, where conversations typically turned to who was working where this year. The chatting and hanging out continued in Florida in the winter, where they met friends at Dubrow's Cafeteria on Miami Beach in Lincoln Roadand reminsced about last summer in the mountains. That magic pulled them back the next summer, and the grew old and infirm, along with the Catskills themselves. As the region declined in the 1970's, the Mountain Rats competed for fewer and fewer jobs, and many had trouble setting up permanent roots. Cubans displaced them in the Miami Beach hotels."

The meaning of a cafeteria

I've found a couple interesting books at the library that mention Dubrow's, in the context of understanding the history and sociology of Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Miami Beach. I'll be posting some of my findings over the coming weeks.

These quotes both come from The Jews of Brooklyn by Ilana Abramovitch and Sean Galvin:

"Brooklyn boosters are prone to promote cohesion through nostalgic reminiscences, embracing detailed discussions of famous locales like Coney Island, Prospect Park, and the Brooklyn Bridge. Cherished neighborhood spots like DuBrow's Cafeteria, Schechter's candy store, or Erasmus Hall High School provide content for more specialized games of trivial pursuit."

Later in the book, there's a wonderful description of just why places like Dubrow's were so beloved in their communities:

"By far the most popular eateries were the kosher delicatessens, a Jewish-American invention. There was a deli on every block because, said the manager of Grabstein's, 'a hot dog sandwich and a pastrami sandwich and a knish was a way of life.' With their 'salami sanwiches and pickles wrapped in coarse white paper,' the delis were 'the culinary hearts, if not the heartburn, of working-class and immigrant Jewish neighborhoods.'"

(The Jews of Brooklyn, Ilana Abramovitch & Sean Galvin, 2002)

Community evolved

I found this to be an interesting reflection on the meaning of Dubrow's. This is part of a longer piece about Square One, a restaurant in San Francisco, CA. The owner, Joyce Goldstein, also mentions Dubrow's Cafeteria in the introduction of her cookbook Cucina Ebraica: Flavors of the Italian Jewish Kitchen, as she is talking about the influences on her cooking.

"The shaping of Square One began in Joyce Goldstein's childhood, when the family lived in an apartment building in a lower-middle-class neighborhood in Brooklyn. Community evolved and was maintained in the local delicatessen, in Dubrow's Cafeteria, in Roseman's grocery, and in Mr. Silverstein's candy store. On the streets you saw people, she recalls, but in those places you got to know them. "

(Celebrating the Third Place: Inspiring Stories About the "Great Good Places" at the Heart of Our Communities, edited by Ray Oldenburg, 2001)

Every customer was a half hour

I found a couple interesting books at the library, and I'll be posting my finds here over the next few weeks. One of them is a collection of oral history of Brooklyn from the mid-twentieth century. Here's three quotes I found about Dubrow's:

DAN LURIE: "On Saturdays, I'd put on a nice shirt and stroll up and down Pitkin Avenue. It was the Fifth Avenue of Brooklyn, with stores like Abe Stark's men's clothing, Fisher Brothers' ladies coats and suits, Dubrow's or Diamond and Coopersberg furniture."

KARL BERNSTEIN: "'You're all a bunch of Kings Highway bourgeoisie,' Miss Deborah Tannenbaum would tell us. 'You hang around in front of Dubrow's getting vicarious thrills out of life.' I didn't understand what she was talking about. Miss Tannenbaum was only about five feet tall, but she was dynamite. She taught only the best English classes at Madison, on such a high level. We read Portrait of an Artist, and I became so scared to death of going to hell, I hardly ever opened my mouth, I was so afraid of that woman. But I sat down and took the English Regents and got a 96."

MARTY ADLER: "A few blocks before Ocean Avenue, just past the Brighton el, was Dubrow's Cafeteria. That's where you ended up on a Friday night. If you were lucky enough to have a car, you kept it down to three guys so there's be room in case you picked up some girls. The Madison and Midwood cheerleaders were there, and they were the prettiest. You'd take them to a movie, or someone's party. Around midnight, you would drop by Dubrow's again to see if any of the other guys were around. You'd tell stories about what happened thatn night and then hook up for a ball game the next day."

(It Happened in Brooklyn: An oral history of growing up in the borough in the 1940's, '50's, and '60's by Myrna Katz Frommer and Harvey Frommer, 1993)

Chronology

I went to Manhattan this past weekend, and had a wonderful visit. I went to Katz's and met Marcia Bricker, who has contributed many amazing photographs of Dubrow's. We are both excited about the possibility of putting together a documentary of Dubrow's. She recently had her first film selected for the Coney Island Film Festival - very exciting!

She requested that I try and recap the chronology and also the genealogy of Dubrow's Cafeteria and the Dubrow's family, so that's what I'm going to do. Here's what I've got so far:

1907: Simon and Rivka Soloway, parents of Rose Dubrow, emigrate from what is now known as Belarus.

1914: Benjamin and Rose Dubrow emigrated. Little is known about Benjamin's family, except that he had a sister named Sylvia who stayed behind.  At the time of the Dubrow family emigration, George, Fannie, and Lila had all been born.  Sylvia was in utero, and Rose was the first child born in America.

1929: Bejamin opened Dubrow's Cafeteria on Eastern Parkway. Henry Jablonski Sr was a counterman.

1939: Benjamin opened Dubrow's Cafeteria on King's Highway.
Leo Martin was an assistant manager.

1940: Henry Jablonski Jr began working at Dubrow's Cafeteria on Eastern Parkway as a dishwasher. He would stay until the Eastern Parkway and King's Highway restaurants had both closed, eventually working as a manager.

1942: Property was purchased on King's Highway - possibly for a slight expansion?

1952: Dubrow's Cafeteria opens in Manhattan (7th Ave and 38th)
Max Tobin, a manager, was held up at the Manhattan Dubrow's.

1956: George Dubrow, a manager, died in a car accident.

1958 Benjamin Dubrow died.

1959: Leo Martin left Dubrow's to work at another restaurant.

1968: Leo returned, as manager of the Manhattan Dubrow's.

1970: Irwin Dubrow, a manager, killed himself.

1983: "The Cafeteria" is filmed in Dubrow's. Marcia pointed out it is "practically a documentary" about Dubrow's, and she has some great digitized photographs from the movie.

1985: Manhattan Dubrow's closed.

2000: Leo Martin died.

2001: Irving Kaplan, a manager and an owner, died.

A walk through the garment district

This picture comes from an article entitled "An Unhurried Walk in the Garment Center" by Jennifer Dunning. It is an interesting piece about a walking tour which was conducted in New York's garment district in 1980. Notice Dubrow's Cafeteria in the background - you can see part of the sign in the upper right corner.

Among other things, the article talks about how Dubrow's fit into the landscape of the garment district:

"The garment district is not only concentrated but also compartmentalized...'The district is more important as a display and distribution area than a major manufacturing area,' (James) Shenton saysm pointing up to a sooty Gothic-style emporium devoted largely to designer samples. 'Much of the manufacturing is done now in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina, though there is a revitalization of small-scale units of productions with the move back of Chinese to Chinatown and to Greeks to Astoria'...everything can be bought, it seems on Seventh Avenue, from "absolutely the best chocolate chip cookies in New York to holidays in Rumania.

On the corner of 38th Street alone, the fames Dubrow's Cafeteria and Lou Siegel's restaurant stand cheek by jowl with the Spanish Taverna. And each block has the most astonishing number of fast food restaurants, which suggests the enormous concentration of people here. A quarter of a million to 300,000 people pass through this area in the course of a normal workday."

(New York Times, Friday, July 11, 1980)

President Carter in front of Dubrow's

There's no article to accompany this image, but you can see that behind President Carter is part of the Dubrow's sign.

The caption for this article, which appeared on the front page of the Friday, October 31, 1980 edition of the New York Times, reads: "Carter ends New York Campaign. President Carter responding to union workers at rally in city's garment district."

A Cafeteria of Refinement

This is an ad from 1954. I didn't even realize Dubrow's advertised. Thanks to Marcia Bricker for this great find!

What's cool is now we also have a definitive answer as to when the King's Highway Dubrow's opened: 1939.

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.