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.