Zum Zum was a

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 ...

based

restaurant chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate many retail markets, dining markets, and service categories in many pa ...

that operated from the 1960s to the 1980s. The restaurants served

German cuisine The cuisine of Germany consists of many different local or regional cuisines, reflecting the country's federal history. Germany itself is part of the larger cultural region of Central Europe, sharing many culinary traditions with neighbouring c ...

. The rights were purchased in early 2022 by William Belida, owner of The Salon Group in NYC and is in the process of re-launching with an updated menu and brand focus.

History

Joe Baum, the president of

Restaurant Associates Compass Group plc is a British multinational contract foodservice company headquartered in Chertsey, England. It is the largest contract foodservice company in Europe, ahead of Sodexo, employing over 500,000 people. It serves meals in location ...

, opened the first branch of Zum Zum in the

Pan Am Building The MetLife Building (also 200 Park Avenue and formerly the Pan Am Building) is a skyscraper at Park Avenue and 45th Street, north of Grand Central Terminal, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Designed in ...

in concert with the opening of the

1964 World's Fair The 1964 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1964–1965 New York World's Fair) was an international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, United States. The fair included exhibitions, activities, perform ...

. The restaurants were unique in offering only counter seating. The menu included a variety of German

wurst Wurst may refer to: *The ground (minced) meat product sausage *The KMFDM compilation album Würst, released in 2010 *Conchita Wurst Thomas Neuwirth (born 6 November 1988) is an Austrian singer, fashion designer, human rights activist and drag q ...

and freshly smoked meats. In Germany many restaurant signs begin with Zum which means To The. The Zum Zum logo featured a sausage in the shape of the letter "U". It was designed by

George Lois George Lois (June 26, 1931 – November 18, 2022) was an American art director, designer, and author. Lois was perhaps best known for over 92 covers he designed for ''Esquire'' magazine from 1962 to 1973. Background Lois was born in New York Ci ...

and Kurt Weihs in 1963.

Criticism

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

restaurant critic

Craig Claiborne Craig Claiborne (September 4, 1920 January 22, 2000) was an American restaurant critic, food journalist and book author. A long-time food editor and restaurant critic for ''The New York Times'', he was also the author of numerous cookbooks ...

wrote about the food: "The Zum Zum's sausages, whether bauernwurst or a frankfurter, are well seasoned and with good texture. The sausage salad, on the other hand, is an interesting idea but disappointing in preparation. Like the restaurant's potato salad, it seems vitally lacking in ingredients that would elevate its character, chopped onion, for example, chopped pickle and more herbs such as parsley. It is too bland for one palate." When Zum Zum opened a restaurant in

Harvard Square Harvard Square is a triangular plaza at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue (Boston), Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street (Cambridge, Massachusetts), Brattle Street and John F. Kennedy Street near the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, C ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

, in 1969, ''

The Harvard Crimson ''The Harvard Crimson'' is the student newspaper at Harvard University, an Ivy League university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The newspaper was founded in 1873, and is run entirely by Harvard College undergraduate students. His ...

s restaurant critic

Esther Dyson Esther Dyson (born 14 July 1951) is a Swiss-born American investor, journalist, author, commentator and philanthropist. She is the executive founder of Wellville, a nonprofit project focused on improving equitable wellbeing. Dyson is also an ang ...

described its fare as follows: "Unless you like German food — about five different kinds of wursts — it's best to stick to the frankfurter with sauerkraut, a big juicy hotdog for 35 cents. The desserts, doughnuts, fruit salad, and apple crumbles, are also cheap and good. What Zum Zum does best is breakfast, the standard fare plus apple pancakes, although you have to eat it off pewter plates. A nice filling breakfast with assorted German jams and maple syrup will cost you just a dollar." Dyson also noted that the restaurant did not supply ketchup, "being strictly German," but instead had "china pots of mustard cutely labeled 'Das Sweet' and 'Das Hot'."

In popular culture

Zum Zum was mentioned in the 1974

Jobriath Bruce Wayne Campbell (December 14, 1946 – August 3, 1983), known by his stage name Jobriath, was an American rock musician and actor. He was the first openly gay rock musician to be signed to a major record label and one of the first internatio ...

song " Scumbag," which in turn inspired a reference to "Zom Zom's" in the

Gary Numan Gary Anthony James Webb (born 8 March 1958), known professionally as Gary Numan, is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He entered the music industry as frontman of the New wave music, new wave band Tubeway Army. After releasing two st ...

song "

Down in the Park "Down in the Park" is a 1979 song by the English new wave band Tubeway Army, featuring lead vocals by Gary Numan. It was released as the first single from the band's second album ''Replicas'', though was not a hit. The song was written and pro ...

." Zum Zum is also referenced in the 2005 memoir written by

Jeannette Walls Jeannette Walls (born April 21, 1960) is an American author and journalist widely known as former gossip columnist for MSNBC.com and author of '' The Glass Castle'', a memoir of the nomadic family life of her childhood. Published in 2005, it ha ...

called “

The Glass Castle ''The Glass Castle'' is a 2005 memoir by American author Jeannette Walls. Walls recounts her dysfunctional and nomadic yet vibrant upbringing, emphasizing her resilience and her father's attempts toward redemption. Despite her family's flaws, ...

”. It’s revealed her older sister, Lori, worked there as a server.

External links

Zum Zum Website

References

{{Reflist Restaurant chains in the United States Restaurants established in 1964 1964 establishments in New York City