Setting Up
By Robert Beck
It was a little before 9:00 when I arrived at Fischer Bros. & Leslie, the butcher and deli on 72nd [between Broadway and West End Avenue]. One of the employees was cleaning the front window, inside and out. I parked my kit in front of the cold case and spent a few minutes deciding the best place to set up.
Lester Wasserman from Tip-Top had suggested Fischer’s as a place to paint, but it was closed the first time I stopped by. I went back and pitched the idea to the guy in charge, but he didn’t take to it and told me to call back later and talk to Paul. Paul Whitman couldn’t have been nicer. I told him what I wanted to do, and he was all for it, a great ally when the guys getting the meat ready—the ones wondering who this clown is blocking the freezer—all have nasty-looking knives and blood on their aprons.
Fischer’s is a step back into another era; not to a Disney caricature, but to a time of long-term relationships. They offer a product rather than dazzle you with marketing, which I find refreshing. The store feels spare but unmistakably genuine—a location scout’s dream.
A woman stood at the meat case and asked questions of a patient butcher while trays of chicken and red meat were being loaded onto the racks. Plates of food were shuttled to the window as they emerged from the kitchen. A man with a guitar on his back stopped to get something to take with him for lunch. Occasionally I would have to move my easel (a maneuver perfected over thirty years in the field) while someone looked for soup in the case. The doors opened with a suction noise and pulled themselves closed.
The sounds and aromas reminded me of the Amish butcher shop of my Pennsylvania youth. Every so often, the door to the meat locker at the other end of the room would open with a metallic cuh-jank of the hand lever and close with a solid chunk, briefly volunteering glimpses of large hunks of meat.
Paul Whitman never stopped moving. Behind the counter or on the phone, he was a blur. Paul went out the front door and came back three or four times while I painted, each time with a hesitation at my easel to tell me I was doing a nice job. When I was done, the biggest guy with a knife came over, smiled, and took a phone shot of the painting.
The Butchers, 12×16”, by Robert Beck, soon on W. 79th Street. Yes, he found a new studio/gallery! Details will follow.
Fischer Bros. IS a (welcome) step back in time, as is being fortunate enough to get to see someone setting up an easel to paint. Loved reading this, thank you!
I avoided this place due to an unstable employee at the cash register. I was happy to learn he moved to Florida a year ago, so now I stop by often. The place is much calmer now, it’s a pleasure. They make terrific buffalo wings.
Lovely story! Thank you.
Great story and painting.
The best part of this lovely article is that Mr. Beck has found a studio/gallery. At last!
Delighted that Robert Beck has found new studio and gallery space. Will he do a painting of it for WSR?
That’s a good idea, Carmella. It will take a while to move, and get the new studio in order. Watch this space.
Where can one find your work on line to purchase??
YAY!!! SO GLAD that you found a space, Robert. All your readers are gratified. Tell us more and if we can be of help.
I appreciate all the support I’ve received. Thank yo so much.
Very pleased for Robert — but I hope this doesn’t mean the end of his work appearing in the WSR! I suspect he has developed quite a following as a result of all this exposure!
Thanks Chuck. More to come. I will tell all in the not too distant future.
Paul is the nicest man on the planet! I have been using Fischer Bros as my butcher for over ~15 years — they are hands down the BEST butcher ever. The quality of the meat and chicken is unparalleled and I always get rave reviews when I cook — I am a good cook and I have good recipes, but without quality ingredients, I am nothing! Their prices are a little higher as compared to other local kosher meat sources, but I will gladly pay it for the quality of the food and the customer service. They have been with me through so many moves, simchas and tragedies. Paul has helped me out a million times when I decide at the very last minute that I need a big order of fresh and prepared foods to get us through Shabbos and they always manage to squeeze the delivery in for me. I can’t say enough good things about them. They are truly a kiddush Hashem. We are so lucky to have them in the neighborhood. I am incredibly grateful to them for helping me keep kashrut all of these years in such a beautiful way.
Robert, thanks so much for the lovely article and capturing us in your painting. And thanks to our customers for your kind remarks. In these difficult times it’s nice to hear that we are appreciated. From myself, my partner Donald and our entire staff we thank you.
I have been a customer since 1971
Never disappointed
My mother shopped and now my children and my grandchildren are enjoying.
What a fabulous tradition!
A true memory to be immortalized!