25 September 2008

The Mystery of Gary's Liquors


Gary's Liquors is located at 141 Essex Street on the Lower East Side. It sells wines and liquors, so the sign (one of three) says. It was founded in 1933, so the sign says.

Has anyone every heard of 75-year-old Gary's Liquors? Has anyone shopped there? I can find out nothing about the place, which dates back to the tale end of the LES's days as an immigrant mecca. I've check every resource I can think of. The signs sure don't look like those of an old business. And what's with the "KGB" initials. Is there some sinister Soviet connection at work here? Please write in. In the meantime, I will continue my investigation.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mrs. Grieve and I used to shop there when we lived nearby...late 1990s or so. Don't recall a very large selection of anything. But the proprietor was always warm and friendly. I believe he had an accent -- Russian? Ukranian?

Anonymous said...

I live right down the block from there. There's an owner with a Russian-ish accent, as ev grieve said, and he's always very friendly. He mentioned once that he's lived in the neighborhood for ages (I think 40 years?). I don't know how long the store has been around though....