From 1914 to 1925, the pre-eminent kosher catering establishment serving the
needs of the Jews of Newark and vicinity for weddings, bar mitzvahs,
anniversaries and other special occasions was the Schary Manor.
In its 11-year lifespan under the management
of Herman and Belle Schary, it operated from four different locations in or
close to Newark's center of Jewish population, the old Third Ward.
The Scharys were Eastern European
immigrants who had married in 1895, he at 22, and she at 20, and took up life in
Newark's Third Ward, beginning on Charlton Street.
After two tries at running a
restaurant, one of them on Mulberry Street in Newark, they decided to apply
their culinary skills to starting a kosher catering business.
They opened their first catering
establishment in 1914 at 584 High Street in what for years had been an abandoned
building.
Although of limited means, the
house had been affordable to the Scharys because it had been abandoned years
before when its owner committed suicide on the premises. Neighborhood
children believed at the time that the house was haunted by the ghost of the
deceased who roamed the place at night clanking chains.
For the
Scharys, the home at 584
High Street served as both the family business and the family home for the Scharys
and their four children, Isadore 1, Sam, Lillian and Frances. Also living
with them were Belle Schary's parents, Baruch and Shaina Drachler, known to
their children only as Zaidi and Bubeh.
Their kosher catering business
apparently met a community need because it was successful from the start.
Building on its early success, two years later, the Schary family purchased and
moved to a larger four-story building at 604 High Street at Court Street.
604 High Street Location
604 High Street was a good
location from both a business and personal standpoint. The heart of
Newark's Jewish shopping district was just a few blocks up the street, Prince Street.
and the family's synagogue, the Congregation Anshe Russia, was also just a few
blocks up West Kinney Street between Broome and Prince Streets.
It was also near the family
barbershop used by Father Schary, his two sons, and their live-in grandpa,
Zaidi. The barber was Glickstein's Barbershop on Broome Street near
Springfield Avenue.
The Glickstein brothers shop not
only gave shaves and haircuts, but also specialized in cupping
("bankes"), gave music lessons, and provide klezmer music for special
Jewish occasions--sometimes at Schary Manor.
Some 604 High Street Neighbors
With the move to No. 604 High
Street, the Scharys also acquired a couple of interesting neighbors directly
across High Street, Gottfried Krueger 2
and his wife, and M. Ellenstein
3,
Dentist.
Soldiers in the Kitchen
As America got involved in World
War I, Army troop truck convoys, enroute from Fort Dix to their Hoboken
embarkation points, were often routed across High Street, and were known to have
stopped at Schary Manor and 'borrowed' their kitchen facilities to prepare food
for the hungry troops in the convoys on their way to war.
The Scharys as Businesspeople
The Scharys were astute,
clearheaded, and likeable businesspeople who managed and operated their catering
business with great precision. Mrs. Schary was the kitchen boss and
crisis-manager and seemed able to overcome any problem. Born in Russia in
1875, she was brought to America in 1891. Although she had scant formal
education, along the way she had acquired a fluency in Yiddish, Polish, Russian,
Hungarian, German, and English.
Herman, born in Riga in 1873, who
arrived in America in 1892, was a suave businessman who favored German as a language,
but spoke Yiddish, Polish, Russian, and some Swedish. He had lived in
England for a while during his youth.
The sign outside both High Street
locations operated by the Scharys bore the same legend: Schary Manor - Catering
for Special Occasions. And, truly, a menu could be crafted for virtually
any type of event -- at a price deemed affordable.
The price schedule for weddings
ranged from the four-dollar-per-couple menu to their 'fanciest' -- the
ten-dollar menu with flowers 4.
On to Belmont Avenue
As their kosher catering business
continued to flourish, the Scharys felt pressure to expand. They sold the
604 High Street building and bought the Krueger Auditorium building at 25
Belmont Street, just a stone's throw from the landmark Krueger Brewery and at
the northwest corner of the Third Ward.
The huge red brick building had a
first floor banquet room that seated 2,000, replete with three kitchens, and
smaller rooms on other floors.
Their Fourth and Final Location
With continued success on Belmont
Avenue, the Scharys sold the Belmont Avenue building and occupied a new and
glittering fourth Schary Manor building, with family living quarters, at 104-106
Clinton Avenue, midway between the Starting points of High and Washington
Streets.
The Clinton Avenue operation was
yet another success. However, one year after its opening, in 1925, the
Scharys sold their catering business for a substantial sum, moved to an
apartment on Belmont Avenue, and made plans for a future with summers down the
shore and winters in Florida.
Son Isadore Heads for a Life in Showbiz
By this time, the Schary's son
Isadore--his name now changed to Dore--had developed a strong interest in the
theatre and in dramatic writing. When he wasn't busy helping in the family
business, he had helped write and direct shows at the YMHA and in Temple B'nai
Abraham, and at a summer camp in the Catskills. He was on his way 5.
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