Does anybody here remember
Dubrow's Cafeteria?
If you lived in Brooklyn, Manhattan, or Miami (and are old enough), chances are that you do.
It was a small chain of cafeteria-style eateries started in 1929 by Benjamin Dubrow. One of the Brooklyn locations was just a couple of blocks from me. It had remained virtually unchanged: the revolving door entrance, the Art Deco mosaic tilework on the interior, and the inexpensive food. The Kings Highway location (the one near me) was open 24 hours. It really was a throwback to another time. I used to occasionally eat there with my father in the 1960s. He used to tell me how he remembered
Dubrow's from when he was a boy.
It closed around 1979, IIRC. I believe they shot some scenes for the film
Boardwalk there and then it immediately shut down. No one in the neighborhood saw it coming. A real pity. Maybe the food wasn't as great as it used to be, but the place should have been preserved as landmark for the decor alone. And, in a day when virtually
nothing was open 24 hours, it gave people - especially seniors - a place to go at any hour where they could have a cup of coffee, a sandwich, and
schmooze with their friends.
The last
Dubrow's closed in 1985. End of an era.
The great-granddaughter of the founder has an interesting website devoted to the restaurants:
www.dubrows.blogspot.comSignor V.
