Hot dog! Loeser’s celebrates 50 years in Kingsbridge

The wafting smell of 50-cent hot dogs and floating yellow balloons drew a crowd of nearly 100 people to the sidewalk in front of Loeser’s Kosher Delicatessen on West 231st Street on Saturday.

It was a celebration of the deli’s thriving 50 years in business and its owner’s commitment to serving the good people of Riverdale and Kingsbridge great deli food. 

Freddy Loeser, owner and operator, was presented with awards and commendations from local politicians and, especially for the occasion, a hot-dog-engraved stone was laid into the sidewalk commemorating his half-century of hard work.  Sitting next to a tree in front of the store, the two-foot stone is meant to last long enough for future generations to enjoy. 

Sporting a blue tie-dye “Loeser’s 50th Anniversary” T-shirt and surrounded by a sea of loyal customers, Mr. Loeser walked up and received proclamations of appreciation from Rep. Eliot Engel, Assemblyman Jeffery Dinowitz, and Councilman Oliver Koppell. 

“He’s worked so hard to make good food,” said his oldest son, Brett Loeser. “After all the long hours he put in to make sure people had their food, he deserves this.” 

At 17-years-old, Freddy Loeser opened the deli in 1961 with his father, Ernest Loeser, in what was then a primarily Jewish and Italian neighborhood. Freddy Loeser has now stood behind the counter through decades of change. 

When it opened, a kosher deli could be found around any corner in the Bronx. Time has changed delis to laundromats and butcher shops to nail salons. Hot dogs now cost $3 and a new crop of immigrants has replaced the old; but the family-run Loeser’s has changed very little.  

“You walk inside and it looks like a kosher delicatessen looked like in 1961,” said Bronx historian Lloyd Ultan, pointing out weathered signs boasting the famous overstuffed sandwiches and what Mr. Loeser calls Jewish Penicillin — his homemade chicken soup. 

The time capsule effect doesn’t just extend to the posters, but to the computer-free cash register and the quality of the food.