Zabar's facts for kids
Logo
|
|
| Industry | Specialty market |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1934 |
| Founders | Louis Zabar Lillian Zabar |
| Headquarters | New York City, New York, U.S. |
|
Key people
|
Louis Zabar Lillian Zabar |
| Services | Eatery |
Zabar's (/ˈzeɪ.bɑːrz/ ZAY-barz) is an appetizing store at 2245 Broadway and 80th Street, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, founded by Louis Zabar and Lillian Zabar. It is known for its selection of bagels, smoked fish, olives, and cheeses. While considered a Jewish delicatessen, Zabar's does not serve kosher food.
History
Louis Zabar, born Mordko Leib Zabarka, (1901–1950) came to the United States through Canada from Ukraine, Soviet Union, in the early 1920s. His father, also a merchant, had earlier 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 had come to America by herself and settled with relatives in Philadelphia. She moved to New York City and met Louis Zabar, whom she knew from their village in Ukraine. Louis Zabar died in 1950; by that time he owned 10 markets. After the death of Louis, Lillian married Louis Chartoff (1900–1978). From 1960 to 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. Klein officially retired from the store in 1994 and died on December 6, 2007, in New York City.
Importing the Wigomat and other drip coffee makers in the late 1960s, Zabar's was the first shop selling these machines in the USA. As of 2006[update] 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 Horace Mann School and later the University of Pennsylvania the year his father died. The Zabar Art Library of Hunter College, dedicated in 2008, was made possible through the support of Stanley Zabar and his wife Judith Zabar. A move and expansion in the 1970s made Zabar's one of the largest supermarkets in Manhattan.
Eli Zabar has his own line of specialty shops, which as of 2023 comprises ten outlets. These include the flagship Eli's Market at 1411 Third Avenue, and E.A.T., at Madison Avenue near 80th Street. He also owned the now-closed restaurant and market, Vinegar Factory, on East 91st Street near York Avenue.
In 2022, a book chronicling the history of Zabar's and its food was published: Zabar's: A Family Story With Recipes. The author, Lori Zabar, who died of breast cancer in February 2022 at age 67, was the eldest grandchild of the founders, Louis and Lilly Zabar.
See also
- List of Ashkenazi Jewish restaurants
- List of Jewish delis
