Jack Dempsey's Broadway Restaurant, known popularly as Jack Dempsey's, was a

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

located in the

Brill Building The Brill Building is an office building at 1619 Broadway on 49th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, just north of Times Square and further uptown from the historic musical Tin Pan Alley neighborhood. It was built in 1931 as t ...

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

between 49th Street and 50th Streets in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, New York City. Owned by world heavyweight boxing champion

Jack Dempsey William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926 ...

, the restaurant originally opened for business as Jack Dempsey's Restaurant on Eighth Avenue and 50th Street, directly across from the third Madison Square Garden, in 1935. Most nights would find Dempsey's famous proprietor on hand to greet guests, sign autographs, pose for pictures, and hold court with people from all walks of life. It was next door to Jack J. Amiel's Turf Restaurant on

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

. Amiel became famous as the owner of the "underdog" horse

Count Turf Count Turf (April 27, 1948 – October 18, 1966) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1951 Kentucky Derby. His grandsire Reigh Count won the 1928 Kentucky Derby and his sire Count Fleet won the 1943 Kentucky Derby and we ...

who won the 1951

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-yea ...

. A few years after his Derby win, Amiel became a co-owner of Jack Dempsey's Restaurant. A favorite attraction of the restaurant was its famous cheesecake. In a letter to ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

'' in 1973, Dempsey wrote, "Jack Dempsey's

cheesecake Cheesecake is a sweet dessert consisting of one or more layers. The main, and thickest, layer consists of a mixture of a soft, fresh cheese (typically cottage cheese, cream cheese or ricotta), eggs, and sugar. If there is a bottom layer, i ...

has been in existence for almost 40 years. And in New York it is an institution in itself. It is baked on our premises, eaten in our restaurant, as well as airmailed all over the United States and Europe. We have had requests for our cheesecake from tourists who come to New York from faraway places; we've fulfilled requests over the years from France's late President Charles DeGaulle, who had his cheesecakes sent several times a year." The restaurant closed in 1974.

In popular culture

*In the 1962 film version of ''

Requiem for a Heavyweight "Requiem for a Heavyweight" is a teleplay written by Rod Serling and produced for the live television show ''Playhouse 90'' on 11 October 1956. Six years later, it was adapted as a 1962 feature film starring Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason, Mickey R ...

,'' Jack Dempsey's is where Maish takes Mountain to get him inebriated before his job interview. Jack Dempsey does a cameo as himself in this scene. * It also appears in the 1972 film ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caa ...

'' when

Michael Corleone Michael Corleone is a fictional character and the protagonist of Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather''. In the three ''Godfather'' films, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Michael was portrayed by Al Pacino, for which he was twice-nominate ...

is picked up by Sollozzo and Capt. McCluskey. * The restaurant is one of the settings of

Hubert Selby, Jr. Hubert "Cubby" Selby Jr. (July 23, 1928 – April 26, 2004) was an American writer. Two of his novels, ''Last Exit to Brooklyn'' (1964) and ''Requiem for a Dream'' (1978) explore worlds in the New York area and were adapted as films, both of whi ...

's short story "Hi Champ," which appears in the 1986 book ''Song of the Silent Snow'' * The restaurant is mentioned, as background, three times in

E. L. Doctorow Edgar Lawrence Doctorow (January 6, 1931 – July 21, 2015) was an American novelist, editor, and professor, best known for his works of historical fiction. He wrote twelve novels, three volumes of short fiction and a stage drama. They included ...

's 1989 novel ''Billy Bathgate''. * The restaurant is mentioned in Blue Bloods, season 2 episode 5 A night on the town''. * The restaurant appears during the opening scenes of the 1993 film ''

A Bronx Tale ''A Bronx Tale'' is a 1993 American coming-of-age crime film directed by and starring Robert De Niro in his directorial debut and produced by Jane Rosenthal, adapted from Chazz Palminteri's 1989 play of the same name. It tells the coming of ag ...

.'' * It can be seen in back projected stock footage of Gotham City in the 1966 television version of ''Batman''. * In season 1, episode 6 of '' The Odd Couple'' television series, "Oscar's Ulcer" (originally aired October 29, 1970), Oscar Madison is seen going into the restaurant.

References

{{Broadway (Manhattan) 1935 establishments in New York City 1974 disestablishments in New York (state) Jack Dempsey Defunct companies based in New York (state) Broadway (Manhattan) Theater District, Manhattan Midtown Manhattan Boxing culture Sports-themed restaurants