Strange what brings these past things so vividly back to us sometimes…..Harriet Beecher Stowe
I recently had the pleasure of dining with a colleague and fellow car hag at a little place called the Bread Crumb. The Bread Crumb is a luncheonette. I love that word, luncheonette, it is incredibly nostalgic as was this gem of a place. It serves breakfast and lunch, that’s it. The décor is pretty much the same as it’s always been, booths on one side, a few tables scattered along the other side and middle. The wall paper must have been impeccably hung as it appears to be a decades old design. The menu is limited and old fashioned in a way that makes you believe you are back in your hometown in your teens.
The woman I was lunching with is one of those people I always knew I would enjoy. Her sense of humor is quick, her work ethic is awesome, she’s got a story like most of us and I could have chatted with her for hours. Unfortunately the Bread Crumb closes at 1:30pm but the keys go in the door at 1:15pm. You will get shooed along if you’ve not finished your lunch which is usually where I find myself as a notoriously slow eater.
I was told the Bread Crumb makes the best chicken salad but my go to was always the BLT. While enjoying my BLT I couldn’t help but think of the places the Bread Crumb reminded me of, Luhmann’s Ice Cream Parlor with its narrow back hall up the stairs to the parking lot. The Woolworth’s lunch counter where many a cherry coke and fries were consumed after school. And of course, Dan’s Deli a block from the High School that made the best home fries ever, served in a paper coffee cup to go.
It was clear that the clientele at the Bread Crumb was older. Where else could one get a wink from an older gentleman in a bow tie. Who else but me would brazenly wink back? There is a sadness in the fact that this clientele might be the last to frequent the luncheonette. There is nothing fancy, nothing modern to offer the younger generations. Even more sad is the fact that this type of neighborhood establishment was already a dying entity as witnessed by the long ago closed establishments I was so nostalgic about. Only Dan’s Deli will remain as long as the high school does.
Regardless of its fate, I love that this little hole in the wall in a strip mall is staying true to their roots, serving a simply decent meal at a fair price to a regular clientele and a few strangers accompanied by a local. They work hard, are courteous and out by 1:45pm, the latest.
This place reminds me of the one that was at the Bergen Mall. I don’t remember the name. Do you? I went to Dan’s the other day. It was redone. No more groceries for sale. More counter space but the egg sandwich came out on a round roll. How disappointing. No more long rolls. The only good thing was T.J. Lee at the counter having coffee. Some things never change.
You’re talking about Wolfie’s. This place has the exact same feel sans the gum cracking waitresses and on a muchhhh smaller scale. Too bad about Dan’s but so glad to hear TJ is in his usual spot among the kids.
Sandi,
I don’t know why I am not able to add a comment to your post anymore but I had to let you know how much I enjoyed the Luncheonette post.
I wish you could have experienced Tony’s Corner or B’s Deli. To this day people still tell me how they would stop at B’s on their way home from school for a Pizza Hoagie. These are now grown men, policemen, DPW workers in the town where our businesses were located. My family went from serving them at B’s while they were in elementary school and high school to serving them hot meals in their adult hood at Tony’s. We watch them meet their future wives (some in our store!), celebrated when they married had children and watched the next generation of pizza hoagie lovers grow up. There was a lot of laughter, so much laughter and yes some tears. I have watched all five of the 9 am retired men pass on and embraced their loved ones when they would say “oh how he loved having coffee with you at Tony’s”.
From the first time I was able to prop myself up next to my Dad’s butcher block in his shop over 40 years ago to the day my mom and I locked the front door of Tony’s for the last time, I knew that every time I would see a butcher in their white coat or pass by a coffee shop it would bring me back to what I know most………these are my roots and I’m damn proud of it.
Your post confirmed that yes, we did touch people, they will remember just like I do.
I love you,
Toots