Guss’ Moves Lock, Stock and Barrels to BK
By Yepoka Yeebo
After 90 years of being a legendary LES institution Guss’ Pickles is loving its new home in Borough Park.
“We started selling for Passover last Sunday,” said Pat Fairhurst, who has worked at the store, now at 39th and 15th, since 2004.
“We’ve moved into a Jewish community, our pickles are Kosher and everybody knows us.
“We’ve changed our name to Ess-A-Pickle,” for the uninitiated, Yiddish for ‘eat a pickle.’
They were forced to change the name after a legal battle with Guss’ Pickles of Cedarhurst N.Y. for the commercial soul of original owner, Polish immigrant Isidor Guss, who started the briny empire in 1920.
Fairhurst, whose son Roger Janin owns the business, says they’ve been telling customers about the planned move from Orchard Street since June 2009. Although the rent is the same, Fairhurst says they have more space. And more customers: “There’s not much left on the Lower East Side, everybody’s moved down because everything’s so expensive there.
“The generations have changed. People were more religious back in the day, they didn’t mind coming all the way down and waiting in line. Now they just go to the supermarket.”
Next we bring you a video of the shop.
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