'Hot Bagel' from Brooklyn's past; In-N-Out looks East; Queens diner saved; California donut sign tumbles | Rolando's Roadside Roundup
'Hot Bagel' from Brooklyn's past; In-N-Out looks East; Queens diner saved; California donut sign tumbles | Rolando's Roadside Roundup
Plus, Babies 'R" Us follows "Toys" to revival; a Los Angeles marquee's unwelcome upgrade; and over a dozen more headlines from the American roadside.
New York City diner, the T-Bone, is rescued in deal that will make it a Kosher-style deli
Since the 1930s, the T-Bone Diner had been welcoming the hungry on a prominent corner of Forest Hills in Queens, New York, until closing last year, and a revival didn’t seem likely.
The word on the social-media street was that Popeyes fried chicken had its eyes set on the space, sitting as it does right at the entrance to a major subway station and along busy Queens Boulevard.
That’s what we call good real estate in New York. Really good for retailers.
When my friend, the preservationist Michael Perlman, who has a remarkable knack for saving old diners from sure demise, reached out asking for a photo of the T-Bone, I had a hunch he was working on something big. After all, there’s a reason they call him the “Diner Man.”
And indeed he was.
This past week, Perlman announced in an article he wrote for the Queens Ledger that he had brokered a deal to rescue the T-Bone. Under the new ownership of A. Kumar, who runs the nearby Jade Eatery and Lounge, the diner will reopen later this year as a 24-hour Jewish delicatessen while offering the traditional diner fare for which the T-Bone was known.
In recent years, Forest Hills has lost the T-Bone in addition to adjacent Rego Park’s Shalimar and Ben’s Best (my images of the latter two below), and this revival of the T-Bone brings back some of the area’s lost flavor in a single space.
“My endeavor is to keep our culture alive,” said Kumar, whose business partner is Glenn Reiner. “A main reason that I decided to reopen this diner was to serve our community, since there are not too many diners remaining in the neighborhood.”
He remembers the recent losses of the beloved Tower Diner and Shalimar Diner, in addition to delis of yesteryear, including Sandy’s Surf, Ben’s Best and King’s/Boulevard Delicatessen. Eyeing a meaningful and creative future for the T-Bone, Kumar explained, “Our menu highlights will be pastrami, matzo ball soup, and a 24-hour breakfast and the likes. We will be like Katz’s Deli. Our dress code for the staff would be a long skirt for the ladies, and men will wear fully white or black with a bowtie, just like the 1940s and 1950s.”
The world “delicatessen” will be added to the iconic pink neon sign that has long graced Queens Boulevard, Perlman reports.
The diner closed last year amid financial woes and tangles with the New York City Department of Health.
I’ll share updates on the T-Bone’s planned revival as I get them.
Still hitting ‘The Spot’ in North White Plains
The Little Spot in North White Plains, New York, had been around since the 1950s when it shuttered in 2016. The business had not paid the tax man his due, and the tax man will wait only so long.
I don’t drive by here very often, but the fate of this building pops into my head from time to time, and so yesterday I decided to visit. I was happy to see that the building is still there, under a new name, Hot Spot, but still serving old-fashioned comfort food.
I’d already treated myself to a hot dog at Walter’s earlier in the day — post coming soon — so I decided ‘tis best for the old ticker to hold off on sampling the wares here, but it’s nice to see this is still a “Spot” in the hamlet of North White Plains. [MAP]
A salute to Carl’s Do-Nuts in Pomona, California, whose sign took a tumble
Highway_Poet on Instagram posted alarming photos this past week of the fallen neon sign for Carl’s Do-Nut Shop in Pomona, California. The sign snapped at the base of the metal pole.
Thankfully, word is the sign will be restored, but Carl’s close call is a reminder to treasure these gems while we have them. It’s great to see owners of legacy businesses who are invested in their roadside icons. It’s always tempting — and certainly cheaper — to discard these beautiful relics.
My photo, below, is from a quick stop here in May 2018. [MAPS]
From Southwest to Southeast! In-N-Out eyes Tennessee expansion — and perhaps beyond
I admit it. I’m part of the In-N-Out cult.
I partake in obligatory visits to the burger chain whenever I’m in California, and post photos of said visits on social media, where my friends will invariably announce how jealous they are, and inevitably, others will douse my enthusiasm by declaring that the burgers are “overrated.”
Indeed, there were days when a much younger Retrologist, with a more dietarily carefree attitude, would make In-N-Out his first stop after arriving at LAX, and the very last one right before returning the rental car ahead of the flight back home.
To me, dining at In-N-Out — ideally in the patio under the screaming hot Golden State sun — is part of the experience and the excitement of being on the West Coast for this native New Yorker. From time to time, April Fool’s Day reports of an In-N-Out’s imminent Gotham debut send Double-Double-deprived New Yorkers into hyper-salivation mode. The reports are always bogus, of course, but somebody always falls for it.
A few years ago, the discovery of an intact In-N-Out Double-Double, still wrapped and still delectable-looking on the streets of Jamaica, Queens, inspired a reporter to solve this mouthwatering mystery. Yes, there was a Kennedy Airport connection.
So I take news of In-N-Out’s planned expansion east, to Tennessee — it’s not New York, but it is the closest push yet — with both excitement and apprehension, the latter emotion because sometimes, chain-restaurant transplants don’t quite take root like you’d hope or expect.
In New York, we saw this when Canada’s Tim Horton’s donut-and-coffee chain came to town, and later California’s Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf made its way to Manhattan. Neither’s expansion here matched the success they enjoy in their hometown markets, with a handful of Horton’s surviving outside Manhattan, and one Coffee Bean open for business in Brooklyn.
Before my time, there were Jack in the Boxes in the New York area, one on the very block where I live now in Queens. Jack retreated West after awhile, McDonald’s and Burger King victorious.
These comparisons aren’t entirely apt, I know, but I’m trying to make the point that chains with cult followings often “hit different,” as they say, when they are transplanted. What’s special when you’re on vacation becomes mundane when you have it at home.
There are examples to the contrary, with the continued national march of Dunkin’, for instance, serving as a stellar standout case study of something that appears to be working, at least financially.
As for In-N-Out’s plans, Tennessee may only be the beginning of an East Coast expansion. Until this point, In-N-Out had made it only as far east as Texas.
Lynsi Snyder, granddaughter of Harry and Esther Snyder, hinted that the Tennessee expansion will result in future restaurant openings in other states as well.
"Knowing that we'll be delivering from our warehouse in Texas, we have mentioned, we haven't named any one -- there's a path there that might cross a few other states," Snyder said. "So, don't worry, there are others that will be included in this plan eventually."
In-N-Out will have California company in Tennessee. While In-N-Out is opening a corporate office and restaurants here, Carl’s Jr., another made-in-California brand, actually moved its headquarters to Tennessee, to the city of Franklin.
At any rate, I do wonder what the In-N-Out experience will be like in Tennessee, or New York or Baltimore or Boston if it ever does make it the shores of the Atlantic. Certainly, in such a world, that first bite into an In-N-Out burger in Los Angeles will lose some of its punch.
What do you think?
Hot Bagels on National Bagel Day!
Blink and you’ll miss it. I photographed this sign right before the blink. This is one of my favorite photos, mainly because it shows such a rare thing – the sign for this long-defunct bagel shop in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn. In September 2014, I was tipped off to its emergence from decades-long hiding, and made it down here just in time. It was gone just a few days later, either removed or entombed again by the successor business.
This is not the first National Bagel Day in which I’ve shared this sign, and it probably won’t be the last, because as I reviewed my photos of bagel places today, I found that this photo always rises to the top!
To help understand the world from which this sign came, I encourage you to spend seven short minutes watching this wonderful 1970s film, Nick Manning’s “Hot Bagels,” from the collection of the Brooklyn Public Library. It will enhance your enjoyment of this sign, and of an actual bagel should you be having one today. I may well head out later to forage for a good hot New York bagel!
Notes From the Road
The New York Times profiles Jerald Cooper, the Cincinnati man behind the Instagram account @hoodmicenturymodern, which you should follow if you aren’t. As the Times explains:
He decided to try to do something to preserve what he calls “hood century,” a play on midcentury architecture and interior design, giving room for new ways to explore and examine the style. He began with an Instagram page now called @hoodmidcenturymodern and is planning a crowdsourcing map to catalog the history of modernism in Black culture to better understand it, and ultimately preserve it. He said many people do not know the history of their neighborhoods. “This lack of knowing is why we started this,” he said.
The plastic reader boards at Los Angeles’ Orpheum Theatre have sadly been swapped for electronic displays. [Merchmotel on Instagram]
A powerful January tornado has devastated Selma, Alabama, a cradle of the Civil Rights movement. [PBS Newshour]
Here’s an early assessment of damage to historic structures in Selma. [Al.com]
The Greenport Theater on Long island has hit the market for $5.5 million. It hit the jackpot 20 years ago when it came under the ownership of former AMC Networks CEO Josh Sapan, who restored it, built a stunning sign for it and made a jewel for this East End community. Also, the cursive signage from the lost Beekman Theatre on Manhattan’s East Side is on display here.
The full story in the Suffolk Times includes this highlight:
“There’s this renewed interest in these older movie palaces as these community-centric event spaces, said John Catrambone of Dering Harbor Real Estate, who said the building could be used for cinema, music, theater and other art forms. “It’s set up in a nice way for those types of events and could be exciting for a community group.”
The original building dates back to 1915 and an earlier theater was destroyed by the Great New England Hurricane in 1938. It was rebuilt the following year by Prudential Theaters and designed by John Eberson, an architect renowned for his movie palace designs.
Over time, the single-screen cinema was turned into a multiplex with 632 seats across four theaters.
A casino atop Saks Fifth Avenue? There’s a proposal for that. [New York Times]
How about this: A. Werner Silversmiths Inc. was the only business left in downtown Milwaukee's “Water Street nightlife area” that was not a tavern or a restaurant. Well, the shop closed, the building was sold and, tada, it’s becoming a tavern. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
With Toy “R” Us back in the United States with a flagship store as well as small shops inside hundreds of Macy’s department stores, Babies “R” Us is staging a comeback, too. [CNBC]
After 50 years, the Holland House restaurant in Savannah, Georgia, is going out of business. The place really looks wonderful. [WJCL]
The B’ville Diner, an 89-year-old diner near Syracuse, New York, is returning to 24-hour service for the first time since the start of the pandemic. [Syracuse.com]
The old Coca-Cola plant in Spartansburg, South Carolina, will be “revitalized.” [WSPA]
I told you this was coming in my last newsletter, and here are the results: Behold the restored WECO sign in West Columbia, South Carolina.
The Brown Hayes Department Store building in Atlanta — with its “park your car and take your time” painted sign — gets new tenants. [Urbanize]
The Hot Chicken Takeover chain is expanding in Ohio, and the latest location, in Grandview Heights, outside Columbus, has lovingly repurposed a neon sign from a previous tenant. [NBC4i]
The evolution of a Toronto theater’s signage. [BeachMetro]
An architectural “tumor” is being excised from downtown Muskegon, Michigan. [Mlive.com]
As heavy rain from atmospheric rivers pummel California, a historic adobe in downtown Monterey has suffered a partial wall collapse. It was once the home of Juan Alvarado, the governor of Mexican California from 1836 to 1842. [KSBW]
Colorful Capitola, one of my favorite coastal towns in California, has taken a hard hit from the recent storms, but the community has dealt with weather-related chaos before. [Siliconvalley.com]
The Dugout, a longtime sporting-good store in the Bronx, is closing. [News 12]
Philadelphia’s SEPTA is looking to bring historic trolleys back into service. [CBS Philadelphia]
While I shared good news from Forest Hills, Queens, above, there is also bad news as longtime business Cheese of the World announced it is closing at the end of January. [Patch]
NOTE: Do you enjoy and find value in my newsletter? Please consider supporting it by becoming a paid subscriber! I thank you for your support.