After 97 years of life, Saul Zabar, NYC native and co-owner of the Upper West Side’s iconic Zabar’s, has passed away.
Zabar’s began with its founders, Louis and Lillian Zabar, in 1934. The pair opened up shop along Broadway at West 80th Street. The 22-foot-wide store, celebrated for its high-quality products, has continued to grow over the years as a proud family-run business that still uses Bubbe’s cherished recipes.
Today, the business is revered for its smoked fish, caviar, cookware and more. The New York institution sells 400,000 pounds of coffee a year and 4,000 pounds of fish per week.
Saul, son of Louis and Lillian, was born in Brooklyn in 1928. With original intentions to become a doctor, he took part in the family business, alongside his brother Stanley, after his father passed. The brothers grew the company to new heights without ever forgetting the establishment’s principles on quality, authenticity and its devotion to the Upper West Side.
“Money is not why we do this, not why we’re here seven days a week,” Saul said in 2012. “It’s a way of life for us. It’s kind of old-fashioned.”
You could find Saul greeting customers by name and personally overseeing Zabar’s famed smoked fish and coffee, making sure everything in the store met his standards.
Eli, the third and youngest son of Louis and Lillian, carved his own path rather than joining the family business, creating Eli Zabar on the opposite side of Manhattan.
According to The New York Times, Saul was admitted to the hospital with a brain bleed, before his daughter, Ann Zabar, announced his passing.
He leaves behind his wife, two children, four grandchildren, two brothers and thousands of customers across generations of New Yorkers. Both his son, Aaron Zabar, and daughter, Ann Zabar, work in the family business, the first as a senior manager and the latter as an assistant vice president.
“Saul’s passing marks the end of an era, but his legacy lives on in every bagel, every slice of smoked fish, every cup of coffee, and every conversation that fills our store each day,” writes Zabar’s in an Instagram post about his passing.