By Michael Perlman, Rego-Forest Preservation Council Chairman & Forest Hills Times Columnist
 |
| Ben's Best founder Benjamin Parker & son Jay Parker |
Few independently owned restaurants in Rego
Park among citywide establishments hold the merit of satisfying taste palettes
of New Yorkers since 1945. The days of seeing neighborhoods lined with mom and
pop shops inclusive of delicatessens on every few blocks may have faded, but Ben’s
Best at 96-40 Queens Boulevard is here to stay, according to second generation
owner Jay Parker. Local delicatessens which now only exist in the memories of
longtime residents are Sandy’s Surf, King Delicatessen/Boulevard Delicatessen, and
the Pastrami King.
Ben’s Best opened in 1945 and was incorporated in 1947 by its founder
Benjamin Parker. His son, 62 year-old Long Island resident Jay Parker is the
third generation in the kosher deli business. Reminiscing his youth, he said,
“I would work for my father on weekends and ran the franks and knishes grill.”
His grandfather owned a Hebrew National deli on 163rd Street and
Southern Boulevard in the Bronx.
Some
people attribute the dwindling of classic neighborhood delis to changes in demographics,
modern tastes, or retirement. However, Jay Parker, who purchased the business
from his father in 1984, values tradition while maintaining his faith in the
future. He said, “All neighborhoods
change, but we looked far ahead. There is only one reason for success, but
thousands for failure. You have to fertilize the soil you are growing on.” He
explained his recipe of survival. “During the holidays we charge a little less
for our products, since we have an ethical component to our business. The more
the community needs us, the lower the price we set.”
Parker takes Ben’s Best in the direction of private and corporate
catering for events of all sizes, maintains an online presence, is open 7 days,
and processes orders from anywhere in the United States. “We have 250 corporate
accounts that we service all the time,” he said. Ben’s Best even catered Air
Force One under the Clinton Administration.
Parker takes pride in what’s more than a position, but rather a
commitment. “It has been my life. I met my wife and closest friends here.
Customers have been here for 40 years, and when they come back, they pick up
the conversation from where they left off.” Businesses are destined to become a
mainstay when their owners foster new relationships daily. “When you like what
you do, it comes a little better,” said Parker.
“I have an obligation to keep the community
strong,” said Parker, who has proudly served the Rego Park-Forest Hills Lions
club and the Rego Park Merchants Association, and was also a past president of
Rego Park Jewish Center.
Another
key ingredient is tradition. “Seventy years ago you walked through the door,
and you got the same product you will get today. Consistency is the word,” said
Parker. His personal favorites are goulash and his grandpa’s recipe of stuffed
cabbage. Some patron favorites are pastrami, corned beef, chicken soup with
matzo ball, and the Knishwich. Parker explained, “You won’t get a pastrami
sandwich with sprouts and sundried tomatoes anytime soon. Corned beef should be
corned beef. A little mustard and cole slaw, and we’re good.” Some foods that
have been phased out are heart stew, lung stew, cholent, and jellied calves
feet (p’tcha).
Ben’s Best was a stop for notable figures such
as Jerry Lewis, Governor Nelson Rockefeller, Senator Jacob Javits, Governor
Pataki, Mayor Ed Koch, Attorney General Louis Lefkowitz, and Architect Jack
Brown. Ben’s Best was featured on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” and will be
featured in “Deli Man,” a documentary produced by Erik Greenberg Anjou, which
chronicles cross-country deli owners who maintain the tradition.
Enter
Ben’s Best and one will see an appetizing counter with photos of notables and
plaques on the wall. Just beyond, a 65-seat wood-paneled dining room displays historic
Rego Park scenes. A painting of Benjamin Parker looks out at patrons with
pride. A map reads “You’ve been in our home. Where is yours?,” and allows
patrons to pin their residence. A classic wooden sign of a Judaic main street
is another definitive element, often memorialized on Ben’s Best postcards. The
famed logo depicts a man on a bicycle, who rides by a deli window.
 |
| A classic menu |
 |
| A current menu of a classic! |
Parker displayed a classic menu insert, potentially dating to the Mayor
Lindsay Administration. It boasted a 99 cents Friday lunch special with no tax,
and offered soup, golden brown filet of sole, French fries, cole slaw, tartar
sauce, dessert, and coffee, tea, or Coke. The menu featured an Amstel Holland
Beer logo and a sketch of a fisherman on a boat.
Reflecting upon the past while sensing the future, Parker stated, “Every
day is a challenge to get better than the day before. Whatever you learned on
Monday, you bring to work on Tuesday and add to it. Now I am focused on the
next 70 years.” He continued, “For our 50th anniversary, we rolled
the prices back. Maybe for our 75th anniversary, we will do the
same.”
Posts
