Once also a purveyor of "beef veal lamb poultry," according to faint silhouettes between the two lamps. A 1932 newspaper ad listed a dozen Merkel's locations, all in Queens; this Brooklyn shop may date from some later decade. The chain seems not to have outlived the 1960s.
Merkel Pork Store
Surviving signage at 415 Myrtle Ave. (Vanderbilt-Clinton Aves.), Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
The name of this former market is flanked by two images, a "Butterball young turkey" to the right and a more cryptic logo to the left. Very likely the sign dates from 1947, when Meateria was founded; at its height, this family-run business operated from five locations in Westchester County and the Bronx. After the rationing and leaner years of the Second World War, the imagery may have heralded the return of fat years — and, in particular, an abundant supply of corn-fed meat.
Upon the retirement of owner Pat Albano, who took over the business from his father in 1960, Meateria closed in 2012.
Meateria
141 North Main St. (Highland St.-Willett Ave.), Port Chester, New York
The diner itself is gone, and a branch of the North Jersey Community Bank sits in its place. From across the street, however, you can still see an old sign for the Skyline parking lot; it's at the edge of the overhanging roof that shelters the bank's drive-though customers.
Closer inspection also reveals a much fainter sign, rimmed in blue, for Anthony's Barber Shop. You can still get your hair cut next door, but it's a fellow named Gale who has his name on the awning.
Skyline Diner
Surviving signage at 5914 Park Ave. (at 60th St.), West New York, New Jersey
The beans were hard to find for all the meat and potatoes.
Surviving signage at 6901 Collins Ave. (at 69th St.), Miami Beach
(From an autumn 2012 visit)
This recently uncovered signage marks a long-gone butcher shop — think of it as a child of the '50s. Karl Ehmer, who opened his first store in Manhattan, in 1932, relocated during WWII into what was then a thriving German-American neighborhood straddling Glendale and Ridgewood, Queens. In 1950, having outgrown that snug storefront, Ehmer moved a block east to the premises shown here; in 1958 he moved on to the much larger manufacturing plant, with an adjoining retail shop, on Fresh Pond Rd. That facility closed its doors, after a half-century, in 2010.
Karl Ehmer Pork Store
Surviving signage at 62-10 Myrtle Ave. (at 62nd St.), Glendale, Queens
Most recently, said a passerby, this storefront was home to a laundromat; a gut renovation revealed signage for a long-lost German-American business.
Snyder Meat Market
Surviving signage at 1515 Nostrand Ave. (Church-Snyder Aves.), Flatbush, Brooklyn
Seen afresh as I was navigating the less-charted regions of my archives, the Dixie Drifter shuttered sometime between summer 2007 and autumn 2009. Flanking it, and now also shuttered, was the South Carolina Variety Store. A truck with Georgia plates has picked up the slack.
Dixie Drifter Grocery & Variety
Formerly at 2425 Adam Clayton Powell Junior Blvd. (141st-142nd Sts.), Manhattan
The "cafe" moniker is misleading: This former business appears, still, in at least one online listing of gentleman's clubs, albeit in the tamer-sounding "go-go" category rather than "bikini" or "nude." The address — beside a tire-repair shop, across the street from a rail yard, and a short drive from the turnpike — would also have been a suitably gritty setting for the pocket of Caribbean eateries on my custom map of the day. These, however, were nowhere to be found.
Brown Derby Cafe
Surviving signage above 645 Magnolia Ave. (at Trumbull St.), Elizabeth, New Jersey
Once a Portuguese bar-restaurant.
Red Parrot
Surviving signage above 17 Broad St. (at Dickinson St.), Elizabeth, New Jersey
Items neglected longer than 30 months may be discontinued. I took this photo several years ago but never did find time for ice cream, Italian ice, coffee, or milk tea. The laundromat has since focused on its core competency, though one can still grab a cold drink from the fridge. See also the erstwhile Tri-Thai Cuisine.
Laundromat (and, once, Cafe)
1244 Ave U. (East 13th St.-Homecrest Ave.), Homecrest, Brooklyn
B&K had served its final cup of coffee long before I passed this way, some years ago. I can't speak for the restaurant itself, but the color scheme of the pole supporting the coffee-shack sign was painted in the red and white of the island's most famous landmark.
B&K Coffee Shack
Barnegat Light, New Jersey
(This venue is closed.) The Uzbek mini-menu is a nod to the neighborhood.
Wonder Bread and Hostess Cakes were produced at this seven-building complex from 1936, when it was purchased by the Continental Baking Co., until sometime in the 1980s, when it fell into disuse. The terra cotta decoration in the pediment, which dates from the mid 1910s or early 1920s, is the most visible sign of the original tenant. It's been suggested that the name and logo of the White Cross Bakery were meant to address turn-of-the-century concerns about food sanitation.
Wonder Bread Factory
641 S St. N.W. (6th St. N.W.-Wiltberger St. N.W.), Washington D.C.
Opened 1963, closed 2008. Here's Greenpoint has additional photos, as well as rumors of a possible restoration.
Sunview Luncheonette
Surviving signage (and interior), 221 Nassau Ave. (at Russell St.), Greenpoint, Brooklyn
(This venue is closed.) The building, reportedly erected in 1900, seems to have been vacant for some time.
Corte & Co.
Surviving signage at 414-416 Hoboken Ave. (at Central Ave.), Jersey City
Marshall's Smoked Fish
Surviving sign near Anthony St. and Morgan Ave., Williamsburg, Brooklyn
(This venue is closed, but its successor, M. Wells Dinette, is not far away.) It may have been the only diner in town with a copy of the Larousse Gastronomique behind the counter.
(This venue is closed.) One specialty of the proprietors, who come from the inland Chinese province of Hubei, are dumplings that hold a delectable combo of pork, shrimp, and chive ($3.50 per dozen). The contents are hinted at, but not spelled out, by a Chinese-only, two-character description that promises "three fresh" — colloquially, "three treasures" — shorthand that is also employed at nearby White Bear for dumplings that feature pork, shrimp, and sea cucumber. The treasures depend on the dumpling maker; these are especially worthy of the name.
Steam Dumplings
Savoy Fusion food court (a.k.a. Savor Fusion, Savory Fusion, Maple Snacks), stall 1 (the rearmost)
42-01 Main St. (at Maple Ave.), Flushing, Queens
(This venue is closed.) On weekday mornings in Midtown, the coffee-and-donut carts see a lot of action. In Flushing, there's equal call for the calorie-intensive chow of Tianjin, a northern Chinese neighbor of Beijing. Last time I looked, this peanut-butter pastry (shown in biteaway view) was one of the few items whose name wasn't translated on the menu, but the words "peanut butter" and a buck twenty-five should seal the deal.
Tianjin stall
Savoy Fusion food court (a.k.a. Savor Fusion, Savory Fusion, Maple Snacks), stall 5
42-01 Main St. (at Maple Ave.), Flushing, Queens
646-944-6888
Thank you!
