By Gus Saltonstall
Saul Zabar, the longtime leader of the Upper West Side’s most famous food emporium Zabar’s, passed away Tuesday morning at the age of 97, as first reported by the New York Times.
Annie Zabar, his daughter, confirmed his death to the Times; she told the paper he had been hospitalized with a brain bleed.
“My father’s legacy lives on in every bagel, every slice of smoked fish, every cup of coffee, and in the countless conversations that fill our store each day,” Annie said in a news release. “He poured his heart into this place—just as he did into every pot of coffee he brewed—and his influence will always guide us.”
Saul’s parents, Louis and Lillian Zabar, founded the store in 1934. When Louis died in 1950 (at age 49, according to the Times), Saul returned from college at the University of Kansas to help run the family business. He did not plan at the time for Zabar’s to be his lifelong work, he told the Times in a 2008 interview. But he never left, and over the next 70 years of working at his parents’ creation, he helped turn it into one of the city’s most famous culinary institutions.
“I either had to sell or try. I chose to try,” Saul told West Side Rag in a 2014 interview.
Saul celebrated his 97th birthday in June, and was still seen routinely visiting his store at 2245 Broadway, on the corner of West 80th Street.
Happy 97th Birthday Saul Zabar! From everyone at Zabar’s to you, we’re honored to celebrate with you today! pic.twitter.com/nSTRByvMRj
— Zabar’s (@ZabarsIsNY) June 4, 2025
When asked about what set Zabar’s apart from other stores, Zabar once told the Rag: “Family and an invested interest in the community.”
City Councilmember Shaun Abreu, who has multiple family members who have worked at Zabar’s, posted his memories Tuesday of Saul.
“For decades, Saul Zabar was known all over the world for running the best shop in New York City,” he wrote. “But there are many fortunate Upper West Side families who know his legacy extends beyond the joy of a fresh bagel with lox or perfect cup of coffee. The Upper West Side won’t be the same without him, but the legacy he built won’t disappear any time soon.”
You can read more about Saul’s life — HERE.
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The best part is everybody in the neighborhood has had the same experienced with Saul and that’s how he was.
With a smile, a hello how are you? How’s life treating you? Good to see you again. Every time I was at that store he would say the same. 🥰
I did inspire him to go on the Internet and start a website back in 1995.
He didn’t know how to do it, and I turned him onto my webmaster who did our my business website.
I told him he can get at least 30% additional revenue into the store by going building your own website.
He thanked me ever since.…🙏
He was my friend and my client for over 57 years.
Peace be with you Saul.
Billy Amato! I saw you on NY1 TV NEWS at the MTA press conference at the West 79Th St., Subway introducing the new “Saul Zabar” (RIP) subway poster that is posted as you enter and depart the station with Gale Brewer
City Council, 6th District and other city dignitaries and members of Zabar’s family . Very nice poster maybe Westside Rag should show the people and post the Zabar’s poster. I would love to buy one if they’re making copies. I am a long time Zabar’s customer as well, not as long as you, cute story!
City Councilmember Shaun Abreu, who has multiple family members who have worked at Zabar’s, posted his memories Tuesday of Saul.
“For decades, Saul Zabar was known all over the world for running the best shop in New York City,” Abreu wrote.
No, not really. Zabar’s has decline significantly since the man who made it famous and extraordinary (Murray Klein) retired and sold his 1/3 share back to the family.
Now the store is over priced in comparison to other stores in the neighborhood and the selection has declined significantly.
In other words, Saul and Paul taking over full control in 1996, are known for turning Zabar’s into just another store.
@Jay writes “the selection has declined significantly”. Not sure what you are missing but Zabar’s IS a business and when customers stop buying a certain item a store might stop carrying it. I lament the loss of the delicious corn rye bread they sold pre-pandemic but which – frankly – no one asks for frequently enough to justify them carrying it. Why should they bring in a baked good only to have to throw it out?
Lox is a perfect example as well. Very few people buy salty belly Lox anymore, they buy Nova in far greater numbers. I applaud Zabar’s for continuing to sell it (to me) and smile when the counter guys patiently ask other customers who order “Lox” if they REALLY mean they want salty lox or do they instead mean they want Nova. They give the customer a taste to confirm. That’s good business.
Things other area stores carry are no longer available. That is the definition of declined selection, which is not the same as Zabar’s stopped carrying items that didn’t ever sell or that are no longer produced.
Quite a nasty,unnecessary thing to say after Saul’s passing!
Setting aside your overwhelming kindness and good spirit (NOT!), I can tell you with certainty that you are simply flat wrong. I have shopped at West Side Market, Key Food, Pioneer, Broadway Farms, Gristede’s, and Zabars for more than 40 years. And I can tell you that I STILL buy MORE at Zabars than anywhere else BECAUSE, for most items, Zabars is less expensive or equal to the others.
WSM, BF and the new KF (88th) are all enormous rip-offs. Gristede’s has become more and more expensive. Pioneer is about in the middle. The Key Food on Amsterdam is cheapest, but also smallest, so they don’t carry as much (and don’t carry any “specialty” items).
If you know what you are doing, and what you need to buy, Zabars is as reasonable as – and mostly MORE reasonable than – all the other supermarkets in the area. I can buy five days’ worth of dinner, plus three or four days’ worth of lunch, for between $60 and $80 at Zabars. I dare you to do that at WSM, BF or KF.
It is all about what you buy. If you are buying “specialty” items like lox and prepared items from the deli counters than, yes, the prices are somewhat high – but not nearly as high as you are suggesting. But prices for “staple” items and other non-specialty items have always been reasonable, as compared with other stores in the area.
Though a near disaster Fernway is cheaper for things like De Cecco pasta and olive oil.
Zabar’s still has the best large cheese department on the UWS, though the expensive cheese shop on Columbus in the 60s is amazing for quality.
I do love Zabar’s and find many of their items reasonably prices, pointedly on their housewares, sandwiches, bagels, and cafe soups; yet, comparing their prices on everyday foods to those of West Side Market, Broadway Farms, Gristede’s, and Key Food is providing only a small picture of the Upper West Side food world: Fairway, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and Pioneer offer far better prices and weekly sales on yogurt, fresh fruit, chips, bread, packaged cheese, and prepared dishes.
Jay: Have you no decency?
Apparently, you are not familiar with smoked fish, which is expensive in of itself, and knowing how to cut it is nearly an extinct art. In the 1950s, there was a trade association of Jewish delis there were so many. The City is down to about three or four. Hail, Zabar’s!
Leaving aside the tasteless timing of your comment, I have to mention that coffee at Zabar’s is a very good buy. Coffee prices have risen everywhere, but ounce for ounce, Zabar’s charges less than (for instance) Fresh Direct. Their pound of coffee is still a full 16 ounces where many other sources now try to call 12 ounces a pound. And it’s freshly ground to order when you buy it.
RIP, Saul Zabar. You were a gift to the community.
You seem nice
Overpriced compared to the one other appetizing store (Murray’s) that is about 95% smaller?
Zabars fills a very small niche in a very big way. Lox is expensive everywhere.
A remarkably boorish comment under the circumstances.
Very poor timing to say something like this.
DM, et al,
The NYT’s obituary avoided this inventive fluff. Read it. Albeit the NYT’s headline writers didn’t.
The store has declined, remarkably over the last 12 years.
It’s not going to go out of business because the family owns the buildings, but it needs to improve if it wants to attract and keep customers.
No, it’s not the disaster that the Wakeferned Fairway has become.
Take the L and move on
I think you need to pause with this subject at least for now.
Read the NYT obit. Or the book by Saul’s daughter.
To besmirch his name here serves no purpose. That is precisely what you are doing. What’s wrong with you?
I’m not besmirching his name, I’m pointing out the real history of the store, including its significant decline, which the WSR misrepresented.
Exactly how many years have you frequented Zabars? I’ve been going for 45 years and am fairly discerning. Your comment is waaaay off base.
RIP Mr. Zabar. Ignore the fools.
I didn’t know Zabar’s prior to 1996. I started shopping there around 1998. I absolutely love the shop.
For a brief period in the 1990s I wrote the Zabar’s newsletter that they would hand out at the checkout line. Did features on coffee, on the bakery, on cheese etc. One day while Saul was showing me the caviar refrigerator they have above the store he had to excuse himself to take a call from Lauren Bacall, and I listened while he recited the soups of the day and the specials to her over the phone for a delivery order.
A true neighborhood legend. It so often feels like we’re losing our connection to “yesterday,” but Zabar’s has always anchored us to it — there’s nowhere I feel closer to my grandmother, who inspired my love of good cheese, smart pairings, and, yes, smoked fish. Thank you, Saul, for giving us all a lasting taste of our past. Rest in peace.
May he rest in peace. Deepest condolences to the Zabar family, and many thanks for taking such good care of us Upper West Siders.
Rest in peace, Mr. Zabar. My your lox always be perfectly sliced.
I didn’t know Mr. Zabar personally, but this news is truly heartbreaking. He was a legend who shaped so much of our neighborhood. My deepest condolences to his family.
My deepest sympathies to the Zabar family.
A wonderful institution. So sad to hear of his passing. Deepest condolences to his family. May his memory be a blessing.
I just have to write that most of the salmon sold at Zabar’s (and all appetizing stores) is smoked salmon. “Lox” refers to belly lox, which isn’t smoked but is salt cured. Personally, I like smoked salmon but love belly lox.
This is one you can Google – Zabars sells belly lox (brined) and clearly describes on their website the differences between their smoked Nova salmon and the salt cured lox, (as well as noting people’s strong preferences and disagreements) At least on the web they try to help people avoid any confusion.
Belly lox FTW! The saltiness makes it divine. (Excuse me while I pop a blood pressure pill.)
If you love the UWS, it is partly due to Zabar’s. Most people have no idea how much they invested in our neighborhood, not for the profit, but for the lifestyle. Some day that book should be written. May his memory forever be a blessing.
Like Yankees hats seen around the world, Zabar’s is in the top 3 things people think of when they hear “upper west side.” My father, an Italian immigrant, loved shopping there and bringing home too much food. The standards have always been so high that there are temptations in every sight line.
He was a master coffee roaster, and I only ever buy the Zabar’s whole espresso beans for my machine at home; no other bean compares. Rest in peace, Saul!
So sorry to hear about Saul’s passing. The Zabar family has made their store a place not just to buy good food, but were always ready to teach about their products and this they have taught me since I was a student at PS9 when my friend’s mothers used to take us shopping for the holidays back in the 60’s when I arrived at the trendy upper west side from my native country. Have been a customer ever since. May he rest in peace.
No, it was Murray Klein who made the store. He came in as a parter with Saul in Paul when the store was about to go under in 1957.
When I was a little girl in the 60’s, I lived on W. 81st. I would take a walk to Zabar’s most Saturday mornings with my dad. I loved those walks. My dad would hold my hand and smile at people on the street. Once in the store, he would choose cheese and then we would head to the smoked fish counter. I barely reached the counter and I remember pressing my hands against the glass to get a better look. I was amazed at how they used their “big” knives to slice the Nova so thin. My dad would say hello to the “owner” (I only figured that out as a teenager) and we would bring our weekend breakfast home to enjoy as a family. I treasure this memory. I still live on the UWS and from time to time make the same pilgrimage.
With lox and knishes from us all
RIP, Saul. You created a legend.
i would occasionally enjoy a scotch with him at la cocina on west 85th and he would always acknowledge me whenever i shopped in his store – a people person and obviously an innovative food retailer and business maven – rip !
https://www.thefp.com/p/zabars-is-a-monument-to-the-fact?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
What a sad occasion. As a kid, my bedroom window looked out on Zabars. I went to school with Saul’s daughter. I recently found a poem I wrote in 7th grade, 40 years ago. My English teacher loved it. RIP, Saul. Thanks for serving the neighborhood and the world.
Zabars
Blazing orange neon letters on Broadway spell Zabars.
Sugary sweet, buttery smells draw me inside.
Past the imported Italian pastas to the Colombian coffees
I follow my nose.
It leads me to bread heaven.
Pumpernickel, rye, French, Italian, challah Shalom!
But croissants are my thing.
“Would you like a sample?”
Plain, chocolate, apple, ham and cheese:
golden brown outside, hot and flaky inside, light to the touch scrumptious, tasty, all gone.
Very sad,
Is he aware he is wearing a Kamala button ?
Of course he is!!!!
There is a CRITICAL fact omitted from this obit. It is that Saul and his family, who own at least a dozen buildings in the immediate area, continually refused to cave to developers. ALL of the buildings owned by Zabars are six stories or less – and most are one, two or three stories. This includes the Barnes & Noble building, the NE corner of 79th and Broadway (currently P.C. Richards), the five-story red brick building on the east side of Broadway between 81st and 82nd, and several others.
Saul once told me that he was offered $100 million for the property on 79th & Broadway. He rejected it because he did not want to see the neighborhood destroyed by a 50+-story building. “Besides,” he said, “What am I going to do with $100 million? Zabars makes good money. And I get good rent from the 79th Street space on a monthly basis, and my family will continue to do so for years, even decades, to come.”
This was his staunch, unchanging attitude throughout his whole life. He valued the neighborhood and the community, and fought to keep it at a reasonable and rational level. He even had a huge fight with his son-in-law when the latter developed the old Circuit City property next to Saul’s property at 79th & Broadway. He begged them not to develop that property and build “just another ugly 16-story building” on Broadway. And when he passed, he and his family were in a fight (still ongoing) with the co-owners of the property across 80th Street from Zabars, which the co-owners are trying to sell and develop by breaking the contract they have with Saul’s family.
Saul was one of the UWS’s fiercest protectors. We can only hope that his family continues that tradition.
THIS. What will happen to what’s left of the neighborhood now???
We’ve had a Zabar’s bagel/lox/whitefish salad brunch for every birthday, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and any other excuse we can find for over 30 years. Recently did the same for our son’s new bride and the women of the wedding party as they got ready on her wedding day. A big thank you to all the Zabars family for helping to make the Upper West Side such a special place and for contributing to our family’s traditions for our children’s entire lifetimes!
Very sorry to hear this and may he rest in peace. A lifetime contributing to a wonderful piece of UWS which I love.’
Sincere sympathy to his family
I’ll miss seeing Saul Zabar holding court in the most beloved store in New York, talking to staff and customers and providing a wide variety of relatively affordable delicacies and necessities for the neighborhood. I don’t understand the comments about the shop being overpriced. In the context of other shops (of less quality), Zabar’s offers great value. (It’s Saul’s brother Eli on the East Side whose prices are off the charts.)
Let’s hope Zabar’s continues to flourish, a tribute to Saul and his parents and a beloved part of the Upper West Side. The happy memories of Harold and Andrea also permeate the loving spirit of Zabar’s.
I was weaned on bagels & nova at Zabars growing up in Inwood during the 60’s. I still love shopping at Zabar’s. I’m fortunate to be living on the UWS, closer to this legendary store. RIP Saul Zabar…
Billy Amato! I saw you on NY1 TV NEWS at the MTA press conference at the West 79Th St., Subway introducing the new “Saul Zabar” (RIP) subway poster that is posted as you enter and depart the station with Gale Brewer
City Council, 6th District and other city dignitaries and members of Zabar’s family . Very nice poster maybe Westside Rag should show the people and post the Zabar’s poster. I would love to buy one if they’re making copies. I am a long time Zabar’s customer as well, not as long as you, cute story!