Stanley Zabar, co-owner of iconic New York Jewish grocery, dies at 94

Stanley Zabar, co-owner of Zabar's, the iconic Jewish food emporium on Manhattan's Upper West Side, has died at age 94. The store announced his death on Wednesday, due to cancer. He joined the family business in 1950 and helped build it into a beloved New York institution.

Stanley Zabar, co-owner of Zabar's, the iconic Jewish food emporium on Manhattan's Upper West Side, died at age 94 on Wednesday, the store announced. His death was due to cancer, according to The New York Times, just over a year after the death of his older brother and co-owner, Saul. Zabar was born in 1932 and quit his studies at the University of Pennsylvania in 1950 to join his brother running the store after their father passed away. He later earned degrees in law and taxation while managing the business side. He helped create the store's mail order department and online presence, and pioneered the prepared foods and cheese departments. The store's general manager noted Zabar's attention to detail, such as alerting him if the coleslaw was bad. The store's statement highlighted his legal and financial acumen, philanthropy, and devotion to family. His daughter Sondra described him as strategic and family-oriented, while his son David said he cared deeply about customers. The funeral was held later Wednesday at Riverside Memorial Chapel. Zabar's has become a symbol of New York Jewish culture, selling approximately 2,000 pounds of smoked fish and 8,000 pounds of coffee weekly to some 40,000 customers.