Nostalgia runs deep in New Yorkers’ veins — ask anyone about what life was like “back in the day” and you’re sure to get an earful about everything from the Dodgers’ glory days in Brooklyn to recollections of hip-hop jams in parks in the Bronx.
But now, the iconic appetizing store Zabar’s is offering a throwback that will have everyone from lifelong New Yorkers to European tourists heading to the Upper West Side: In honor of the subway’s 120th anniversary, Zabar’s — which is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year — is offering select items for super-low prices.
Dubbed “commuter specials,” Zabar’s is offering a cup of coffee for 90 cents; a bagel with cream cheese for $1.20; a bagel with cream cheese and a cup of coffee for $2.90 and bagel and nova sandwich f0r $9.90. These unusually low prices are of course inspired by the numbers 120 and 90, the anniversaries that the Metropolitan Transit Authority and Zabar’s are celebrating.
The deals, which began last Thursday, are available from 8 to 11 a.m. every day until Thursday. (The promotion, which also included the distribution of Zabar’s classic black-and-white cookies in four subway stations last week, was supposed to end Sunday but has been extended.)
“Zabar’s has been a proud part of New York’s fabric for 90 years, and there’s no better way to celebrate than by partnering with another iconic institution, the MTA, on their 120th anniversary,” Ann Zabar, Zabar’s senior executive, said in a press release. “Both Zabar’s and the MTA have helped shape the culture of this city, and together, we’re honoring the past while looking forward to the future of New York.”
But while Zabar’s is one of the most famous Jewish family-owned stores in the city, it’s the subway system that’s celebrating a particularly Jewish milestone. One of the worlds’ oldest public transportation systems, New York City’s subway opened on Oct. 27, 1904 with 28 stations along a 9.1-mile line. That means it turned 120 on Sunday — an auspicious age according to Jewish tradition. Moses was 120 when the Bible records his death, and that age is considered the ideal duration of a good life. (Note: This belief relates to a human lifespan, not that of a public transportation system; the subway is still chugging along, despite some creaky bones.) Thus the birthday greeting “to 120 years” is a popular one among Jews, especially in Orthodox communities.
The city’s first subway line traveled up Broadway after first zigzagging from City Hall to Grand Central to Times Square and then heading north (the route would require transferring twice today). Zabar’s opened atop the line 30 years later.
In a 2022 essay, Lori Zabar, the granddaughter of founder Louis Zabar, detailed how the store got its start at 2249 Broadway. “It was a good location for a retail store,” she writes. “Even though America was in the depths of the Great Depression, the Upper West Side was still a relatively prosperous residential neighborhood. It was also largely Jewish, as many of its residents had migrated there from the teeming Lower East Side when they became more successful.”
Ninety years later, the store maintains its Jewish sensibility. “People associate us with being a Jewish deli,” Zabar’s general manager Scott Goldshine said in an interview. “We sell everything, but this is still the go-to place for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Passover. It’s still an absolute circus every one of those holidays.”
Goldshine, who has worked at Zabar’s for 47 years — which is not quite 90, but still a lot! — added that things have changed “incredibly” during his tenure. In addition to expanding to five storefronts on the block between 80th and 81st streets, “the whole dynamics of what we sell, how much we sell” changed, he said.
“Smoked fish was alway the number-one item,” he said. “It’s still right up there but now we have a very large prepared food business.”
Goldshine cites “excellent quality, reasonable pricing, fair pricing and service” as the reasons for Zabar’s 90 years of success. “We have lots and lots of dedicated employees that care tremendously about the store, that care about the customers,” he said. “And if you don’t have that you don’t have a business.”
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