Zabar's

Zabar's is a specialty food store, founded by Louis Zabar, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is one of the best known commercial landmarks of the Upper West Side, and is known for its selection of bagels, smoked fish, olives, and cheeses (see appetizing store). It occurs frequently in popular culture references to the area, such as in the 1998 film "You've Got Mail" and on the sitcoms "Will & Grace", "Dream On", "Mad About You" and "The Nanny".

History

Louis Zabar (1901-1950) went to the United States through Canada from Ukraine in the early 1920's. His father, also a merchant, had been murdered in a pogrom in Ukraine. Louis first lived in Brooklyn, where he rented a stall in a farmer's market. He married Lillian Teitlebaum (1905-1995) on May 2, 1927 and they had three children: Saul Zabar (born in 1929); Stanley Zabar; and Eli Zabar. Lillian went to America by herself and settled with relatives in Philadelphia. She moved to New York City and met Louis Zabar, who she knew from their village in Ukraine. Louis Zabar died in 1950 and was then the owner of 10 markets. After the death of Louis, Lillian married Louis Chartoff (1900-1978). [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Lillian Zabar, Co-Founder of Quintessential Deli. |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E05E3DE1539F930A15751C1A963958260 |quote= Lillian Teitlebaum Zabar, who fled the pogroms of her homeland, went to the United States and became part of an American success story, died yesterday in Manhattan. She was 90, or perhaps 92 or 93. Mrs. Zabar was a founder with her husband, Louis, of Zabar's gourmet delicatessen and food emporium on Broadway at 80th Street in Manhattan. The business was started in 1934 in Brighton Beach and now has about 35,000 customers a week and $40 million in sales a year, her sons Stanley and Saul said last night.|publisher=New York Times |date=December 23, 1995 |accessdate=2007-07-21 ] From 1960 until 1994 brothers Stanley and Saul Zabar partnered and co-owned Zabar's with Murray Klein, who joined the store in 1953, but was not a member of the Zabar family. cite news |first=Julia|last=Moskin|title= Murray Klein, Who Helped Build Zabar’s Into Food Destination, Dies at 84
url= http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/07/nyregion/07klein.html?_r=1&oref=slogin|work= New York Times |publisher= |date=2007-12-07 |accessdate=2008-02-03] cite news |first=|last=|title= Murray Klein, Manhattan deli owner who gave Americans a taste for quality foods|url= http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article3199307.ece|work= The Times |publisher= |date=2008-01-17 |accessdate=2008-02-03] Klein officially retired from the store in 1994 and died on December 6, 2007, in New York City.

As of 2006 Zabar's is headed by Saul Zabar as the president and co-owner. He was attending the University of Kansas when his father died. Stanley Zabar, is the vice president and a co-owner. He was a student at the University of Pennsylvania the year his father died. Their brother Eli Zabar has his own line of specialty shops which includes the Vinegar Factory, on East 91st Street near York Avenue, and E.A.T., at Madison Avenue near 80th Street. A move and expansion in the 1970s made Zabar's one of the largest supermarkets in Manhattan. cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Zabar's, Broadway Between 80th and 81st Street; As Its Horizons Widened, It Never Left Home |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE4DD113EF933A25752C1A9649C8B63 |quote=According to Saul Zabar, his father, Louis, was born in 1901 in the Ukraine and came to the United States through Canada in the early 1920's. That was after Louis's father, a merchant, was murdered in a pogrom. Louis Zabar first lived in Brooklyn, and he soon rented a stall in a farmer's market. In 1941 he opened a store in the third building north from 80th in the old Calvin Apartments, which was by that time a hotel. He gradually built a network of other small markets, and when he died in 1950 he owned 10 Manhattan stores. |publisher=New York Times |date= |accessdate=2007-07-21 ]

References

External links

* [http://www.zabars.com Zabar's website]