The same descendant of the Cafiero's Restaurant clan who recently shared so much information about the bygone South Brooklyn eatery has now sent an image of the menu of the vanished Fulton Street Woolworth's, circa 1950s. They kept it pretty simple back then. Nine different sandwiches to choose from, and nine different desserts. That 40 cents "Super-Deluxe Ham Sandwich" sounds good to me. And I like how all the malts, ice cream sodas and shakes are made in "popular flavors."
And remember: "Woolworth Coffee—Always Good."
At the lower right corner there's what appears to be the words "REV. 9(7?)-60". It presumably refers to the menu's revision date.
ReplyDeletePeter
I'm surprised there are no burgers on the menu!
ReplyDeleteThat Woolworth's had a great lunch counter. I remember the balloons with different prices marked on slips of paper inside, that you could pop to see how much your banana split would cost. Mom never let me do it...
ReplyDeleteI commented on this post here:
ReplyDeletehttp://punkrockbitchcom.blogspot.com/2009/01/hey-buddy-can-you-spare-dime.html
with a slant on how much these prices would be in 2009 dollars.
Great Stuff, BB.
ReplyDeleteOne thing to keep in mind is that most restaurants serve larger portions today than they did in the past. Woolworth's prices may have been dirt-cheap in 1960, even given inflation adjustments, but you probably didn't get a whole lot of food by today's standards.
ReplyDeleteIt's also possible that Woolworth's directly made little or no money from their cafeterias, but found them useful for keeping shoppers in the stores longer and spending more money.
If it was like most Woolworth's this was a lunch counter, not a cafeteria. Having a griddle to cook burgers, grilled cheese, etc. would probably cause odor/ventilation issues, and the amount of workspace behind a counter was somewhat limited.
ReplyDeleteThe point aabout the size of the portions, though, is a good one. Most people did eat less for lunch in those days.
I don't ever recall being surprised that the cheese sandwich or cup of coke was smaller than anywhere else. I also don't remember thinking that the lunch counter was that much cheaper. Greasier and dirtier feeling, but not cheaper than diners with the same type of food.
ReplyDeleteThere were no burgers because there was no grill. It was cold sandwiches, drinks and ice cream.
That menu style must have been used at least through the early 70's because I wasn't born in the '50's and when I saw it, I had a HUGE memory burst.