Lindy's was two different deli and restaurant chains in Manhattan, New York City. The first chain, founded by Leo "Lindy" Lindemann, operated from 1921 to 1969. In 1979, the Riese Organization determined that the Lindy's trademark had been abandoned, and opened new restaurants, the last of which closed inFebruary 2018.
Locations
The original chain had locations at 1626 Broadway and 1655 Broadway. The Riese's Lindy's were located at 825 7th Avenue and 401 7th Avenue. The location at Seventh Avenue at W. 53rd Street was the last to close.
History
Lindy's was opened by Leo "Lindy" Lindemann and his wife Clara on August 20, 1921, and was located at 1626 Broadway, between 49th and 50th Streets.A second location was opened at 1655 Broadway in 1929. On April 5, 1956, Abraham Telvi, a mobster and hit man, attacked journalist Victor Riesel with acid, blinding him as he left the restaurant. The original Lindy's location closed in 1957. In 1969, the 1655 Broadway location was acquired by Longchamps restaurants, who closed the restaurant in September 1969 to convert it into a steak house. Lindy's was especially well known for its cheesecake, which was at times credited as perhaps the most famous in the United States. The cheesecake was immortalized in Guys and Dolls, where Nathan Detroit and Sky Masterson sang its praises. The "Lindy's" name and concept was resurrected in 1979 by New York City restaurant operator the Riese Organization, who determined that the name had fallen into the public domain, and later obtained the trademark.
Clientele
frequently ate at Lindy's in the 1920s, writing "I had a home again, and during the day a choice of two homes-away-from-home, Lindy's or Reuben's. I was back with my own people, who spoke my language, with my accent - cardplayers, horseplayers, bookies, song-pluggers, agents, actors out of work and actors playing the Palace, Al Jolson with his mob of fans, and Arnold Rothstein with his mob of runners and flunkies. The cheesecake was ambrosia. The talk was old, familiar music. A lot of yucks. A lot of action. Home Sweet Home." Jewish Mafia icon Arnold Rothstein claimed Lindy's as his favorite "office" and would stand on the corner, surrounded by bodyguards, and conduct business outside. On the day that Rothstein was killed in 1928, his last place before the murder was Lindy's and he received a phone call at Lindy´s. Milton Berle frequented Lindy's almost on a nightly basis. Groucho Marx was eating there with Dick Cavett and Woody Allen in the 1960s when they informed him that his work was appreciated by college students of the time.
Historian Albert Goldman named the Lindy effect for the restaurant. Damon Runyon was a big fan and wrote the restaurant into his books as "Mindy's." The musical Guys and Dolls, based on Runyon's writings, immortalizes Lindy's in one of its songs. The commonly told "Waiter, there's a fly in my soup" joke is theorised to have originated at Lindy's during its original incarnation. Lindy's was referenced in The Critic episode "Dukerella." In season 4 episode 10 of “I Love Lucy,” entitled “Ricky’s Contract,” Lucy tells Fred and Ethel that Ricky took his entire band to Lindy’s to celebrate learning that he had been offered a movie contract. Donald Fagen's song, "Good Stuff", from the albumSunken Condos, is a prohibition-era gangland fantasy that uses Lindy's as a location.
