Frances Edelstein (April 18, 1926 – September 24, 2018), born Frima Trost, was a Polish-born American businesswoman, owner (with her husband) of the Cafe Edison in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Theater District A theater district (also spelled theatre district) is a common name for a neighborhood containing a city's theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences ...

from 1980 to 2014. She was a survivor of

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

Early life

Frima Trost was born in Komorów, Poland in 1926, the daughter of Hersz Trost and Chaja Trost. The Trosts were

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

; her father was a butcher. Frima Trost learned traditional recipes from her mother. Most of the Trost family, except for Frima and her brother Moishe, were killed in the Holocaust. Frima and Moishe Trost escaped to the forest with their childhood friends, Harry Edelstein and his brother; the four orphaned youths slept in barns and hid from capture for five years. Harry and Frima (who took the name Frances) married in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

in 1945, and moved to the United States in 1947, with their first child.

Career

The Edelsteins settled in the

Dorothy Dorothy may refer to: *Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Dorothy'' (TV series), 1979 American TV series * Dorothy Mills, a 2008 French movie, sometimes titled simply ''Dorot ...

section of Weymouth Township, where they ran a chicken farm. They later moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, where they used to run coffee and candy shops. In 1980, Frances and Harry Edelstein founded the Cafe Edison in the old ballroom of the

Hotel Edison Hotel Edison is at 228 West 47th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Opened in 1931, it is part of the Triumph Hotels brand, owned by Shimmie Horn and Gerald Barad. Thomas Edison turned on the lights when it opened. It accommodated 1,0 ...

on West 47th Street. The menu featured

matzo ball The Matzo Ball is an annual Christmas Eve nightlife event and party held in a number of major cities in the United States targeted primarily at young Jewish singles and organized by Mazel Events, LLC (previously the Society of Young Jewish Profe ...

soup,

blintz A cheese blintzes or blintz (; ) is a rolled filled pancake in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine, in essence a wrap based on a '' crepe'' or Russian ''blini''. The corresponding Russian dish is called '' blinchiki'', literally "little ''blini''". Histor ...

es,

borscht Borscht () is a sour soup, made with meat stock, vegetables and seasonings, common in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. In English, the word ''borscht'' is most often associated with the soup's variant of Ukrainian origin, made with red b ...

, and

latke A latke ( ''latke''; sometimes romanized ''latka'', lit. "pancake") is a type of potato pancake or fritter in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine that is traditionally prepared to celebrate Hanukkah. It is commonly eaten in Israel and the Jewish diaspor ...

s, and was popular with theatre professionals working on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

, looking for a hearty, inexpensive meal. It was jokingly called "the Polish Tea Room", in contrast with the more formal (and more expensive)

Russian Tea Room The Russian Tea Room is an Art Deco Russo-Continental restaurant, located at 150 West 57th Street (between Sixth Avenue and Seventh Avenue), between Carnegie Hall Tower and Metropolitan Tower, in the New York City borough of Manhattan. ...

restaurant. She was remembered as "a very, very short woman, firmly grounded on the earth," whose food and hospitality created a home away from home for a generation of showfolk and theatregoers. "The Edison felt like going to grandma's house," recalled actress

Linda Lavin Linda Lavin (; October 15, 1937 – December 29, 2024) was an American actress and singer. Known for her roles on stage and screen, she received several awards including three Drama Desk Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Obie Awards, and a T ...

, a regular at the cafe. In a 1996 profile, journalist

Lenore Skenazy Lenore Skenazy () is an American speaker, blogger, syndicated columnist, author, and Reality television, reality show host, known for her activism in favor of free-range parenting. In 2008, she wrote a controversial column on her decision to le ...

noted that Edelstein "is to Cafe Edison what

Carol Channing Carol Elaine Channing (January 31, 1921 – January 15, 2019) was an American actress, comedian, singer and dancer who starred in Broadway and film musicals. Each of her characters typically possessed a fervent expressiveness and an easily ide ...

is to ''Hello, Dolly!''" Frances Edelstein was the inspiration for a

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three ...

character, Zelda in '' 45 Seconds from Broadway'' (2001), a role created on Broadway by

Rebecca Schull Rebecca Schull (née Wattenberg; born February 22, 1929) is an American stage, film, and television actress, best known for her role as Fay Cochran in the NBC sitcom '' Wings'' (1990–1997). Life and career Schull was born in New York City, the ...

. The Edelsteins were honored by the

American Theatre Wing The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...

in 2004, with a special

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for their contributions to the Broadway community. The Cafe Edison closed in 2014, despite a public protest and effort to save the restaurant.

Personal life

Frances and Harry Edelstein had a son Scott, and a daughter, Harriet. She was widowed when Harry died in 2009, and she died in 2018, aged 92, at home in

Manalapan Township, New Jersey Manalapan Township (, ) is a Township (New Jersey), township in western Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is centrally located within the Raritan River, Raritan Valley Region and is a pa ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edelstein, Frances 1926 births 2018 deaths American restaurateurs Businesspeople from Manhattan Polish Holocaust survivors Polish emigrants to the United States 20th-century American businesswomen People from Kolbuszowa County People from Weymouth Township, New Jersey 21st-century American businesswomen