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Caviar, Culture: Zabar's Spices Up Menu With Arts Sponsorship
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October 30th 2007 3:10 pm |
Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Zabar's, famous for its smoked fish
and caviar, is expanding its Manhattan menu to include actors,
dancers and authors.
The gourmet food store is paying $250,000 to sponsor
Symphony Space, a performing arts venue and neighbor of Zabar's
on the Upper West Side. The donation, which helps cover
programming and operating costs, makes Zabar's the largest
contributor to Symphony Space for the 2007-08 season.
The family-run business, which started in 1934 as a stall
at a farmer's market, has 250 employees and $50 million in
annual revenue. It sells everything from chocolate truffle cakes
to housewares.
"It's a wonderful demonstration that a business doesn't
have to be a multinational to contribute to the arts," Cynthia
Elliott, Symphony Space's executive director, said in a
telephone interview.
The season opened last night with "Selected Shorts,"
featuring novelist Stephen King reading selections from "The
Best American Short Stories 2007."
Zabar's began sponsoring Symphony Space last season after
the store was honored at the venue's annual gala. Their Upper
West Side neighborhood is home to many musicians, singers,
conductors, actors and dancers who perform at nearby Lincoln
Center and elsewhere in the city.
"The Upper West Side stands for cultural sophistication,"
Elliott said. "I'm sure half of their patrons who walk through
the door are artists. Some of the great classical musicians of
our time are standing in the cheese section."
Zabar's was quick to see the connection.
"Their customers are our customers," said Saul Zabar, who
took over the business with other relatives after his father,
Louis, died in 1950. "From a business standpoint, it's the halo
effect. We do something good. It makes us look good and it makes
our customers happy."
Zabar, 79, said in a phone interview that he attends some
of the literary and music performances at Symphony Space,
especially those that start early in the evening.
"By 6:30 I'm ready for it, but 7:30 is too late," he
said.
Symphony Space and Zabar's have worked together before.
Zabar's once included CDs of "Selected Shorts" readings in
gift baskets sold online.
Zabar's shared the 2007 Arts & Business Council of New
York's Encore award, which recognizes collaborations between
cultural groups and businesses. In May, Zabar's will sponsor
Symphony Space's Upper West Fest, a two-week long festival that
involves 22 cultural organizations located on the Upper West
Side.
Both sides said they are happy with the arrangement.
"It's been a fairly quick courtship," Elliott said. "Our
marketing line is, 'Feed your body, feed your soul.'"
To contact the writer on this story:
Mary Romano in New York at
mromano6@bloomberg.net.
Permanent link: http://www.symphonyspace.org/articles/27
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