Poe Cozy Nook

[2565 Grand Concourse, Bronx, c. 1939–1941. From the NYC Municipal Archives Collections. Click for a much larger view.]

As a postscript to last week’s Poe post, here’s one more Poe-themed establishment: the Poe Cozy Nook Restaurant (FOrdham 4–9276). The Nook was run, at least at one time, with self-deprecating humor: a matchbook with a large question mark on its front cover proclaims the place the home of “flat beer,” “rotten food,” and “crummy liquor,” “where the customer is always wrong.” A Bronx-centric Facebook group has fond memories of the Nook, collected in 2022. A sampling, unretouched:

I remember the first time I went in there the juke box was playing Billy Holiday. 1964 and I was hooked on jazz and bebop.

They had the best hamburgers I’ve ever had to this day! Toasted bun, grilled patty, substantial but not grossly oversized. Fresh. Good pickle.

I used to go there often after a date. Used to play Greensleeves on the jukebox , played by Faust Papetti on the Saxaphone. That was back in the early 1960s. Also used to enjoy the summertime concerts in Poe Park.

I was part of the young crowd hanging around with older crowd. Remember John the pipe, Mike the hat, Scarry face, Princess, Joey, Caesar, Harry, Marty buttons, Shelly& Kathy. Fun people!

[St. Patrick’s Day must have been on the horizon, or recently past. Click for a larger view.]

Today, the building stands, with the Grace Grand Landromat at street level. Yes, Landromat. Some reviews are less than enthusiastic.

And now, it’s time for Fausto Papetti, and “Greensleeves.”

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More photographs from the NYC Municipal Archives (Pinboard)