White Plains Road Business Trivia

[Eddie Acunzo]

I have trivia questions regarding businesses that were contained on the blocks that boardered White Plains Rd. between Tremont and Guerlain, Guerlain between White Plains and Unionport, and finally Unionport between Tremont and Guerlain. Lets see if you can reconstruct what the business community looked like circa 1965 on those three blocks. I'll start it off, you fill it in and correct where necessary:

White Plains Rd. Btwn Tremont and Guerlain - XYZ laundramat, XYZ butchershop, A&P, Zorros Bakery?

Guerlain Btwn White Plains and Unionport - ??????, XYZ Bowling Alley

Unionport Btwn Tremont and Guerlain - Carl's Pizzeria, Harmony Records, Toy Sun's, Golden Note Cafe?, Palace Theatre, XYZ Barbershop, XYZ Candy/Magazine store

[toddf]

The bakery was Leonards and you forgot Thomas' Pharmacy...Playdrome is too easy and my uncle Louie owned the candystore on the corner of Unionport & guerlain so we always called it Louies but not sure if that was the actual name

[Julie (Luciano)]

There was also a dinner on Unionport on the corner of Tremont Ave right next. I remember my mom used to take me there and I'd always have the same thing- a hot open faced roast beef sandwich with gravy - yummy.

Julie

[Eddie Acunzo]

Todd

Where exactly was Thomas' Pharmacy?

Eddie

[matt keenan]

Hello All: How about Oscar's Deli. I believe the barber shop was Paul's and wasn't there a toy store about next to the Palace. I remember in the early 60's maybe mid 60's there was a huge fire that just about destroyed the block of stores on White Plains Road. Have a good day, Love, Peace and Happiness, Matt

[Eddie Acunzo]

Matty

Oscar's Deli is ringing a bell, but I can't place it. Is that what I thought I remembered as a butcher shop on White Plains above the A&P, towards Tremont? Place it for me.

Eddie

[matt keenan]

Eddie: Oscars was a jewish deli right between the Playdrome and Leonars's and there was a bar across the street Mc something, ya know one of dos Irish joints. Be well, love, peace and happiness. Matt

[toddf]

[color=black]Eddie....Thomas' Pharmacy was direct next door to Leonards on White Plains Road...There was an empty store next to that(which became Kerns Hardware) & the A& P was next to that.....[/color]

[Linda Schlesinger(Leddy)]

hello all, I think I remember the butcher's shop, it was John's. I remember going to laundry, food shopping on WPR.

[nick drewes]

Next the A& P which was acroos the street from Carvel on White pLanes.

[nick drewes]

You are so right about the toy store. That's where everyone went to buy the new duncan YoYo's and the TInker Toys when he first came out. The fore runner to hot wheels. The Barbara Shop was Paul's. I thinks thee was a Fur store or Ladys cloths store. Remember Cornnels on Unionport and Buster Brown shoes store?
Have a great day...

[Joe Anastasio]

circa 1972: White Plains Rd. Btwn Tremont and Guerlain - ? Gas station, ? laundromat, Sol's grocery, Hobby World, A&P, Thomas' drugstore, Leonards Bakery

Sol's grocery was originally a fruit and vegetable store exclusively. When Sol bought it, he made it a sort of Jewish grocery/fruit and vegetable store. Sol was a bit of a grouchy guy. He was a Russina Jewish immigrant that really earned everything he ever worked for starting from absolutely nothing. I worked as a stock boy/register clerk for him one summer and gained a new respect for him.
He ESCAPED from Russia during the height of the Cold War. He trekked about 60 miles while escaping detection from the Russian Army by doing things like hiding in rivers up to his neck in water. Ultimately he came to the US with pretty much the clothes on his back.
He would make me a sandwich of muenster cheese and tomato on a nice, fresh hard roll. Man, that bread was good!
Of course that bread was not nearly as good as Leonard's bread! Every time we went to a relatives house, we were expected to bring a half dozen loaves with us. Nobody in the Bronx made better bread than Leonard's and that included the bakeries on Arthur Ave!

I also spent a lot of time in Hobby World, spending my savings on model cars and the control-line model airplanes. That store only lasted about 2yrs.

[Eddie Acunzo]

To re-construct, it appears what we have is this, circa 1965:

WHITE PLAINS ROAD FROM TREMONT TO GUERLAIN
Gas Station, Laundromat, Sol's Grocery, John's Butcher Shop (later Hobby World), A&P, empty store (later Kern's Hardware), and Leonard's Bakery

GUERLAIN FROM WHITE PLAINS TO UNIONPORT
Leonards Bakery, Oscar's Deli, Playdrome Bowling Alleys (across from Irish pub), Louie's Candy Store

UNIONPORT FROM TREMONT TO GUERLAIN
Some corner diner, Carl's Pizzeria (across from what number bus to Pelham Pkwy), Harmony Records, Toy Sun's Restaurant, Palace Theatre, Toy Store, Golden Note Cafe, Paul's Barber Shop, Some fur or Ladies apparel store, Louie's Candy Store

How about on Tremont between WPR and UPR? A gas Station, wasn't there a car dealership?[/i]

[Eddie Acunzo]

To re-construct, it appears what we have is this, circa 1965:

WHITE PLAINS ROAD FROM TREMONT TO GUERLAIN
Gas Station, Laundromat, Sol's Grocery, John's Butcher Shop (later Hobby World), A&P, empty store (later Kern's Hardware), and Leonard's Bakery

GUERLAIN FROM WHITE PLAINS TO UNIONPORT
Leonards Bakery, Oscar's Deli, Playdrome Bowling Alleys (across from Irish pub), Louie's Candy Store

UNIONPORT FROM TREMONT TO GUERLAIN
Some corner diner, Carl's Pizzeria (across from what number bus to Pelham Pkwy), Harmony Records, Toy Sun's Restaurant, Palace Theatre, Toy Store, Golden Note Cafe, Paul's Barber Shop, Some fur or Ladies apparel store, Louie's Candy Store

How about on Tremont between WPR and UPR? A gas Station, wasn't there a car dealership?

[Rich Burrell]

Ed: to the best of my recollection, there was the gas station on the corner, either Gulf or Esso, whichever one featured the orange plastic horseshoes that people stuck on their bumpers. Next to that was a major appliance store, I believe it was Honig's, which also had an outlet around 204th and Webster. At one time, there was a beauty salon, which may have closed by '65. Then a Jewish "dairy store" which sold mostly eggs, milk, cheese and spongecake
(remember Mel Brooks' celebration of spongecake in Young Frankenstein when the stiff-armed town constable tries to calm the rioting peasants by inviting them back for "some vine und spongecake.")

The A&P was an interesting place. I worked there in summer '69. My kids used to ask where I was during Woodstock. I was bagging lettuce and weighing watermelon at the A&P. Harry Farrell was the manager. He lived on Archer St. and was one of the nicest people I've ever met. He paid for the floors to be polished out of his own pocket. We were held up my first week there. The asst. mgr started yelling at the bandits, calling them lazy SOBs who didn't want to work. Anyway, they ran a red light up near Tremont Dodge and were all injured trying to escape. Alot of excitement for $1.60 an hour.