Until it closed in 2020 the large, 3-block long Fairway supermarket in Harlem had a famous “cold room” that held the store’s meat, seafood, dairy, and beer. On the wall outside that vast refrigerated room were pegs holding quilted vests for us shoppers to wear before entering with our shopping carts.
And whenever I was there I’d smile at the memory of another cold room I’ve known – although one not nearly as large as Fairway’s.
It was the walk-in fridge off the kitchen at my grandmother’s Catskill hotel where I spent happy childhood summers. (For more hotel memories see My Heart Remembers My Grandmother’s Hotel, Hotel Kittens, Rowboat and Our Special Guests)
Of course that cold room at the hotel was for the use of the cook and the kitchen and wait staff, and was certainly off-limits to the hotel guests.
But nobody seemed to mind when the hotel owner’s granddaughter poured herself a glass of milk in that old walk-in fridge!
– Dana Susan Lehrman
I can’t say anything about the Catskills fridge, but the Fairway fridge was a real adventure. There is no store that has come close to taking its place.
Yes! I used to shop there on the way home from Jane Addams!
Me too, but it was a more circuitous route for me.
But worth the trip!
I feel a bit cooler after reading your sweet memory
Glad I could help on a hot day!
What a great memory for a very hot day.
Thanx Rita, and thanx for your readership!