Goodbye Shalimar Diner

Goodbye Shalimar Diner

I grew up in Rego Park, Queens during the 1950's and 1960's when Rego Park was an idyllic place.  Named for the Real Good Construction Company, Rego Park provided an abundant supply of moderate cost housing for growing families post World War II.  The Boomer generation was to be enormous and Rego Park was filled with two and three bedroom apartments needed by returning military and their young families.

Filled with Middle Class Boomer kids we walked to P.S. 139 alone from the time we were six years old.  We all lived in those red brick six story apartment buildings that still identify Rego Park and we played in the schoolyard after school every day and on weekends.  My bedroom window faced the schoolyard and I knew to come home and do my homework when my mother closed the window shades, an early form of "texting".

A predominantly Jewish neighborhood, the stereotypical Sunday dinner was at Sunning Chinese Restaurant, the ice cream parlor was Jahn's where the "kitchen sink" was something that a group of us might try but never finish, Shelley's Bakery provided an endless supply of rye bread and cookies and Knish Nosh was another favorite for its potato delights.  

Many of our parents never left Rego Park. My father was a doctor who died in his Rego Park office at the age of 70 and my 89 year old mother died in 2010 in our Rego Park apartment where she had lived for more than 56 years. 

As often happens in Middle Class neighborhoods, our parents aged and most of us moved away from Rego Park.  And when we came back to Rego Park on holidays or when illness struck our aging folks, we gravitated to Ben's Best Delicatessen on Queens Boulevard or the Shalimar Diner which was "up the hill" on 63rd Drive.  Both institutions brought back memories and gave us a sense of being home.  More importantly, they were providers of consistent comfort food and symbols of our lives growing up in Rego Park. It was not unusual to run into old friends at both restaurants, adding to the special experience.

When I turned 65, I celebrated my qualification for Medicare by hiring a small shuttle bus and taking my daughter and my closest friends on a magical tour of my childhood haunts. We all dressed in 60's attire to make the journey more real.  Some of the party goers had grown up in Rego Park but the majority of my friends had never ventured into Queens.  Our first stop was Ben's Deli for a good old fashioned Rego Park dinner and we passed the Shalimar along the way. We sang to a 60's playlist compiled by my daughter and I regaled the captive audience with stories about my Rego Park adventures.

When I learned that Ben's Best was closing this past summer I was shocked and disappointed.  And when I heard yesterday that the Shalimar was closing at the end of this week I was heartbroken.  All because of rents that retailers no matter how large cannot afford.  

Yes, Rego Park has gone through so many changes over my 69 years of existence.  No longer is it a densely populated community of Jewish people many of whom went to Queens College, if at all.    Rego Park has become a melting pot of immigrants from Asia, Russia and elsewhere all striving for a better life for their families.

I learned to ride my bike on the site on Queens Boulevard that eventually became Alexander's and then Sears, both only part of my history.  I remember having peppermint stick ice cream this time of year at Howard Johnson's which growing up was only a restaurant.  We would go for sodas at Charlie Kaye's and shop at the small grocery owned by Mr. Hochberg.  Citibank was First National City Bank and I opened my first checking account there (I still use that account as my primary personal bank account) when I went away to college.  I took the public bus to school as I grew older and the fare was 15 cents for each ride.  If we wanted to go into "the City" we would get dressed up and either take the GG train or the Q60 bus.  

While there were so many changes in Rego Park over my 69 years, I knew that I could always return to Ben's Best and the Shalimar when I needed a good and "memorable" meal.  As of Sunday, those days are officially gone.  So very sad.