Everyone who's ever lived in, or frequented, the East Village, knows the Burger-Klein sign that climbs, block by block, up the side the Gracefully deli on Avenue A. But few know anything about its provenance. The distinctive vertical sign has been there forever, and who can say why it has endured all these years. (Too difficult to remove?) The building was once home to Burger-Klein, a large furniture store owned by Morris Klein and a person named Burger whose first name I can not discover. My guess is they founded their shop well before the Burger King fast food chain came to prominence. Otherwise, they might have paused before naming their business. ("Klein-Burger"?). That's all I know about the matter. Anyone out there ever shop at Burger-Klein?
Of course I shopped there! Who didn't?
ReplyDeleteDid you know that after it was a furniture store--and empty for many years--it was a very popular rehearsal studio? I knew lots of bands that worked there.
ReplyDeleteBack in the '90s I was friendly with Steve Bodow, who is now the head writer of the Daily Show. A story that was often told about Steve was that one day he was walking past this sign (shortly after he moved to NYC) and said without missing a beat:
ReplyDelete"Burger Klein: Have It Yahweh."