Something about this ad, from the July 4, 1936 New Yorker, is really appealing right now on a hot, muggy night. The many Schrafft’s restaurants that dotted the city from 1917 to the 1970s were famous lunch and ice cream spots. Here they were chasing a grown-up, urbane customer.
Schrafft’s is immortalized in J.D. Salinger’s Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters. “There’s a Schrafft’s on 79th Street!” says a tired, thirsty female character stuck in traffic after an abruptly cancelled wedding. “Let’s go have a soda and I can phone from there! At least it’ll be air-conditioned!”
Today, 222 West 57th Street is Lee’s Art Shop. Vanishing New York has more Schrafft’s history, including the fate of an unusual Schrafft’s building on 13th Street and Fifth Avenue, here.
Tags: 1930s restaurants in New York, J.D. Salinger, Schrafft's, The New Yorker
Ephemeral New York 
August 30, 2008 at 3:26 am |
actually, a friend’s sister took me to a Schraffts in the upper east side in 1989…
October 24, 2008 at 5:34 am |
[…] from 1947, is titled “In Schrafft’s,” the name of the chain of ice cream parlor/restaurants that dotted the city until the 1970s, begins: ”Having finished the Blue plate Special/And […]
October 24, 2008 at 5:53 am |
In downtown Brooklyn, there are remnants of a Schrafft’s facade on Jay Street between Fulton and Livingston.
October 28, 2008 at 9:27 pm |
I am wondering if anyone can help me. my great grandparents owned a restaurant in new york city (rector st?) i think. this was back in the 1930’s and i was wondering how i can go about finding out the name somehow. any help would be so appreciated. My grandmother is almost 100 years old and cannot remember the name and i would love to provide her with that. thank you
August 28, 2010 at 6:54 pm |
This is so cool..I pass by the former Schrafft’s factory frequently and never knew they had restaurants too!
July 23, 2011 at 9:08 pm |
[…] the 1970s, the city was dotted with Schrafft’s restaurants, a mini-chain in the tradition of Child’s and Chock Full o’Nuts that offered sandwiches […]
July 24, 2011 at 5:31 pm |
I went to Scraffts in Scarsdale with my mother, grandmothers and aunt as a child in the 60’s
January 30, 2016 at 6:58 pm |
I grew up with Schraffts. We lived on West End Avenue and 83rd Street and there was a Schrafft’s around the corner. You could have the most delicious butterscotch sundae for 25 cents..
June 1, 2020 at 6:12 am |
[…] became a Schrafft’s, the casual lunchroom-restaurant chain with franchises all over the city (and such a storied New […]