Guss' Pickles was founded by a
Polish immigrant
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...
, Isidor Guss. Guss arrived in New York in 1910, and like hundreds of thousands of other
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
immigrants, settled on the
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...
of
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
. Clustered in the "pickle district" of
Essex
Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
and
Ludlow
Ludlow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the conf ...
streets, early 20th century
pickle vendors gave birth to what would be known as "New York style" pickles.
Guss at first worked for L. Hollander and Sons, before opening his own store. At the time, the neighborhood was teeming with 80 other pickle shops. However, immigration restrictions, a ban on pushcarts and the steady economic decline of the Lower East Side felled almost all of these shops.
Guss' Pickles withstood the economic difficulty and now remains as the last store from the days of the Essex Street empire. In 1979, Harry Baker and his partner Burt Blitz took over Guss' Pickles. Through the 1980s and into the 2000s, Baker and his son Tim ran the store. .
Guss' Pickles were featured in the film ''
Crossing Delancey''. Guss' Pickles ships gallon size nationwide at their official web-site GussPickles.com. In June 2017, Guss' Pickles opened a new store in Brooklyn inside the Dekalb Market Hall.
Ownership
In 2002, Tim Baker sold his ownership of Guss' Pickles to Andrew Leibowitz. The Guss' Pickles trademark now belongs to Crossing Delancey Pickle Enterprises Corporation. Andrew Leibowitz is the president. They maintain a factory in
the Bronx
The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
and a farm in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
.
See also
*
List of Ashkenazi Jewish restaurants
Following is a list of Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine, Ashkenazi Jewish restaurants, including some kosher restaurants:
* Attman's Delicatessen, Maryland
* Barney Greengrass, New York City
* Ben & Esther's Vegan Jewish Deli, Oregon; California; W ...
References
External links
*
1920 establishments in New York City
Jews and Judaism in Manhattan
Lower East Side
Polish-Jewish culture in New York City
Restaurants in Manhattan
Ashkenazi Jewish restaurants
Appetizing stores
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