Guss' Pickles
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Guss' Pickles was founded by a Polish immigrant, Isidor Guss. Guss arrived in New York in 1910, and like hundreds of thousands of other Jewish immigrants, settled in the Lower East Side. Clustered in the "pickle district" of Essex and Ludlow streets, early 20th century pickle vendors gave birth to what would be known as "New York style" pickles.
Guss at first worked for L. Hollander and Sons, before later opening his own store. At the time, the neighborhood was teeming with 80 other pickle shops. However, immigration restrictions, a ban on pushcarts and the steady economic decline of the Lower East Side felled almost all of these shops.
Guss' Pickles withstood the economic difficulty and now remains as the last store from the days of the Essex Street empire. In 1979, Harry Baker and his partner Burt Blitz took over Guss' Pickles. Through the 1980s and into the 2000s, Baker and his son Tim ran the store. The Orchard street store, according to a sign on the gate, is now closed. The reason has nothing to do with a greedy landlord — it’s simply that fewer old-timers were coming and business dropped off, even during the Jewish holidays. A new shop is open in Brooklyn at 39th Street between Fourteenth and Fifteenth Avenues, under the new name, Ess-A-Pickle[1][2]
Guss' Pickles was also featured in the film Crossing Delancey.[3]
[edit] Current ownership
In 2002, Tim Baker sold his ownership of Guss Pickles to Andrew Leibowitz.
The Guss Pickles trademark now belongs to Crossing Delancey Pickle Enterprises Corporation. The headquarters is now in Cedarhurst, NY. Andrew Leibowitz is the CEO of the company. They maintain a factory in the Bronx and a farm located in New Jersey.
[edit] References
- ^ "Ess-A-Pickle - Borough Park - Brooklyn, NY". Yelp.com. http://www.yelp.com/biz/ess-a-pickle-brooklyn. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
- ^ Maurer, Daniel. "Guss’ Pickles Will Leave Lower East Side After 85 Years - Grub Street New York". Newyork.grubstreet.com. http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2009/07/guss_pickles_will_leave_lower.html. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
- ^ Wilkins, Jeff; Melago, Carrie (July 31, 2009). "Lawsuit forces famed pickle dealer Guss' Pickles to change its name". Daily News (New York). http://www.nydailynews.com/real_estate/2009/07/31/2009-07-31_names_got_her_in_a_pickle_biz_owner_forced_to_change_moniker.html. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
[edit] External links
- Faye Lederman - The New Old Country
- Jewish Roots in a Multicultural Neighborhood
- Lower East Side Tenement Museum - Pickles In New York
- 43 Places - Guss' Pickles
- History in a Pickle
- The Best Pickle Predicament
- In a Pickle
- The Best Pickles
- New York's Pickle Palaces
- New York City - The Big Pickle?
- New Style New York
- Timeline Touring - New York Tours
- NY Area Guide
- Recrossing Delancey
- NYC Weekend
