Like Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany": Schrafft's reopens – Italian Cuisine

Like Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany": Schrafft's reopens


A piece of American history, but also a myth in cinematography and a symbol of the struggle for women's rights in the US

If you wish to relive the iconic scene of Breakfast at Tiffany's like a modern one Audrey Hepburn, your dream will soon be realized in all the details. In fact, you will not need to have a glass of Starbucks and a Dunkin 'Donuts bag in your hand: you can finally hold in your hands the original coffee and danish of Schrafft's such as Holly Golightly. The historic chain of restaurants and patisseries back in business, word of James Byrne, president of Schrafft's Specialty Foods and Restaurants.

In fact, from the LinkedIn profile of the pro-nephew, who defines himself as "5th generation owner", the signs of reopening are cleverly hidden between memory pearls and black and white photographs, immediately picked up by journalist Cindy Adams. Restaurant, patisserie, lounge, gourmet gastronomy, grill bar, chocolatier, bakery and coffee shop: a world in one name, that of Scrafft's that has made the history of the United States with its specialties, from delicious Gold Chest sweets or ice cream to coffee until chicken à la King or Reuben sandwich.

The incredible rise (and end) of Schrafft's

The history of Schrafft's begins in 1898 when Frank G. Shattuck opens Boston's first candy store in New York William G. Schrafft, to then expand as a hot table since 1910 in collaboration with Charles E. Birge, the architect of Hearst Real Estate, replaced in the thirties by Bloch & Hesse. In just a few years, the restaurant chain has expanded to 43 locations in New York, Boston, Syracuse and Philadelfia, earning an impressive $ 1 million a month, according to an article published in 1928 by The New Yorker. Attended by an elegant public, attentive to good manners and the quality of food, at Schrafft's you can meet the ladies in pink suits with Betty Draper of the famous tv series Mad Men next to the businessman in a dark suit, elbow to elbow in a formal environment at the right point and cozy enough to make you look at home, but better. The wind of change of the Sixties blows overwhelmingly on the Schrafft's tradition, which tries to adapt without success and the iconic neon signs turn off like Christmas lights after Epiphany, leading to the definitive closure of restaurants in the eighties, despite the sale to Pet Inc. and the failed attempt to re-branding; even the 1968 Andy Warhol commercial was not enough. "The world has changed. You can no longer follow a family management, "says the pro-nephew thinking concretely to bring the iconic brand back to its old splendor.

Schrafft's 1959 menu on the 42nd and Fifth Avenue

Schrafft's all-American menu

The success of Schrafft's goes from the kitchen that offers next to the traditional American dishes a great variety of salads and a wide selection of vegetables for a light meal to inevitably end with a dessert; after all, everything comes from a candy store! Remember this important detail the pro-nephew James Byrne from his LinkedIn, where in one post he underlines how today's confectionery offer takes inspiration from the giant ice-cream cups or from the delicious hot fudge sundae of the original Schrafft's; by the way, the favorite dessert of the President J.F. Kennedy, regular patron of the Schrafft's in Boston, was the butterscotch sundae. Even Byrne mentions as the inventor of the expression American comfort food the founder Franck G. Shattuck in honor of the inviting Schrafft's menu that starts from the lobster Newburg and, passing through the Grilled Cheese, ends with a home-baked brownie accompanied by a tasty coffee ice-cream. A culinary story published in a large volume in 2007 that still hides other surprises in the 1,500 pages of recipes stored in three large Byrne black cover folders, which will soon see their realization in the new launch.

From the 10s to the 60s, Schrafft's gives a boost to the first feminism.

The small feminist revolution by Schrafft's

The female contribution to the success of the Schrafft's chain is decisive and revolutionary in its own way, so as to be included in the Restaurants that Changed America by Paul Freedman and Danny Meyer. Adding to the simple sweet shop also the restaurant and then opening real restaurants in the twenties is an idea of ​​the founder's sister, Jane Shattuck, who lives in the first person misogynist rules of the first half of the last century: incredible for us today, but then women could not attend clubs unless accompanied by men! Instead of forbidding entry, in the restaurants Schrafft's female customers can enjoy a restorative break in comfortable and safe places; they even serve i cocktails in teacups to avoid them the embarrassment of useless prejudices. The social stigma that women can not go to unaccompanied restaurant or drink alcohol in public is consciously ignored by the Shattuck brothers, sons of Central New York, the cradle of the suffragist movement made official in the Seneca Falls declaration in 1848. Not only that: pioneers of the time, the quota rose is also high in the organization and there have been numerous positions from chef to manager destined to the workers of the time. A strong and consolidated historical signal that could not be missed by the lady of the night Holly Golightly told by Truman Capote, who chooses Schrafft's for his breakfast at Tiffany; even if in reality Audrey Hepburn prefers ice cream to Danish!

The attention to gourmet food, the search for understated elegance and instagrammable places make 2019 the perfect year for the return of Schrafft's. Already in contact with new architects and looking for locations on Manhattan, James Byrne promises to bring back a piece of American history to success. And we want to believe him.

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