Zabar’s: an Upper West Side institution

Zabar's on 80th and Broadway

Check out our knishes!” a voice exclaims on the PA, as customers seeking shelter from the cold pace around, stopping every now and then when they see an item that they might want to buy. “We have all types of knishes! Potato knishes, spinach knishes, garlic knishes, whatever you want, we’ve got it! And they’re all baked right here at Zabar’s!”

Zabar’s. You would be very hard-pressed to find someone who lives on the Upper West Side that has never heard of Zabar’s.

Taking up roughly two-thirds of the block on Broadway between 80^th and 81^st Streets, Zabar’s has been an Upper West Side institution for decades. To anyone who happens to pass by the store and peer inside the window, it looks like a typical supermarket. However, once you step inside, you’ll see that it is anything but.

Right next to the entrance, you’ll already find something that’s somewhat unusual to find in a regular supermarket: several barrels full of different types of olives. Not too far from there, you’ll also find their large cheese selection, both pre-packaged and available by the pound from the deli. From the selection that includes havarti, emmental, and provolone, the typical processed cheeses you’d find at other supermarkets, like Velveeta and Kraft singles, are noticeably absent. They have at least a dozen different varieties of soup in their soup section, all of which are fresh and on the premises, according to an employee. Then there’s the store’s coffee selection, offering 16 different blends, in whole and ground beans. Upstairs, you’ll find the housewares section – something of an unusual find for a supermarket. There are even Zabar’s souvenirs: t-shirts, tote bags, and teddy bears, all donning the Zabar’s logo. Once you see these souvenirs, it’s clear that this is anything but your typical store.

According to their website, Zabar’s was founded in 1934 by Louis and Lillian Zabar as a smoked fish counter in the Daitch Market, which was located at Zabar’s current location. Gradually, Louis and Lillian took over the entire market, and as the store expanded, so did its status as an institution on the Upper West Side, gaining the loyalty of regular customers such as Julia Smith.

“They have a really good selection of things you can’t find anywhere else,” says Smith, 45, who lives on the Upper West Side. “The prices are pretty decent, too.”

Upper West Sider and frequent Zabar’s shopper Chris Dowling agrees.

“I’ve been coming here for years, and there’s really no place like it,” says Dowling, 34, as he sips on a cup of coffee from the Zabar’s café which is directly next to the store.

“Their coffee is some of the best I’ve ever had, everything here is fresh, it’s delicious, it’s relatively cheap… I shop at other stores sometimes, but nothing really compares to Zabar’s.”

The unique allure of Zabar’s isn’t only evident to those from the Upper West Side, or even New York City.

“It has a lot of personality!” says Sheila Collins, 51, who lives in upstate New York and was visiting for the day. “It’s great! It’s a little slice of New York.”