Murray Klein, the public face of Zabar's who transformed the Jewish delicatessen into an international food emporium, died in early December of lung cancer at the age of 84. He's credited with bringing gourmet utensils and food to Manhattan's middle-class and by extension the rest of the U.S.
"That one little Yiddishe store had an effect on the way people ate all over America, and it was really because of him," Steven Fass, an importer, told the New York Times.
Mr. Klein joined Zabar's as a stockman in 1953 and wound up as a co-owner of the store when he retired in 1994. A constant presence on its sawdust covered floor, he oversaw merchandising, pricing and publicity for more than 30 years and helped Zabar's gain a national following in the 1970s.
"Murray Klein was to food retailing what Julia Child was to cooking," David Liederman, who sold some of his first David's Cookies to Zabar's in the 1980s, told the Times.
His trademark was selling high-end gourmet food while still offering such Jewish staples as chopped liver, babkas and borscht.
The Times also claimed he brought the concept of the loss leader to gourmet food; i.e., selling truffles at a loss to lure in customers for lox and bagels. (He was known to say, "If I walk out onto Zabar's floor and I can see my shoes, it's not busy enough.") Along with Zabar's private-label coffee and preserves, the low-priced delicacies paved the way for high-end/low-price grocers like Trader Joe's.
"Where other vendors would look at a jar of mustard and think, 'How much can I sell this for?' Murray would think, 'How little?'" Mr. Liederman said.
A feisty marketer, Mr. Klein was known for posting caricatures of his competitors in the windows. In 1983, he battled Macy's in what became known as the Beluga Caviar war, eventually driving the price down below cost. He also fought Cuisinart in the 1970s so he could sell the company's food processors at a discount.
Before immigrating to America in 1950, Mr. Klein had a much darker past. He lost his family in the Holocaust, was imprisoned in a Soviet labor camp, and smuggled arms to pre-state Palestine.
New York Magazine said, "He was one of the last of the old-time Jewish businessmen, one who would rather sell caviar at a loss than back down from a fight with Macy's."
Stanley Zabar, who now runs Zabar's with his brother, Saul, said, "What Murray brought was the conviction that the whole world must know about Zabar's."
Discussion Questions: What do you make of the legacy of Murray Klein? How do you think Zabar's has changed food retailing? Can you share any fond memories of Murray Klein and/or Zabar's?