first in a series of posts on the Cafe Rienzi
There are 11,000 hits when you "google" the internet for information of the Cafe Rienzi on MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village, New York. It is mentioned in reminiscences and memoires of famous authors and poets and artists and musicians and even in the speech of a Nobel prize winner (The Dream Machine-Nobel Speech mentions the Rienzi). James Baldwin, Jack Kerouac, Bob Dylan and many, many more well known names crop up in connection with this cafe - as well as memories of many ordinary people who visted it and frequented it. It was a apparently a Mecca for these types of people in the 50's and 60's much like Paris was a Mecca for artists in decades and centuries preceeding.
What seems little known about the Cafe Rienzi is its beginnings - its roots. My aunt and uncle were two of the original group of friends who launched the Cafe Rienzi in the early 50's. I grew up hearing all those stories - the good times, the fights, and how one by one the original group sold their share and left. My aunt said she received $2000 for her share and spent two months or two years in Europe in grand style in London and Paris and Italy. She went over on the Queen Mary.
By now my aunt and uncle and the other folks who started the Cafe Rienze are quite elderly - in their 80's. But here I hope to start a thread of their memories of this historic and influential Cafe and piece of 20th Century American history. I have asked my aunt to write some of her memories about it, and she in turn has asked her friend Eva, and we will see if those are forthcoming - but for now, my feeble notes will have to do.
More to come as I get the time! My Aunt Joan and Uncle Tom Durant, two of the founders of the Cafe Rienzi, are pictured below.
JuneBug
28 comments:
June Bug ..Just a tidbit..
Amy was Amy Nakamura, not 'Metamura'..and she went and settled in Paris..Harry Justman saw her in Paris where he used to go every year before his stroke/heart attack.
http://www.artnet.com/artist/424819017/gert-berliner.html
Gert was/is Gert Berliner..NOT Berlina..He was a painter then and still is now:http://www.artnet.com/artist/424819017/gert-berliner.html
A
Thank you so much for this great information artemesia and for Gert's website. Eva remains one of Aunt Joan's closest and lifelong friends - and I remember Sunday dinners at Aunt Joan's with Uri and Eva when I was growing up in the 50's.
I'll note the corrections on my blog piece and add Gert's website when I can catch my breath. We were away for the weekend for my sister-in-law's funeral.
June Bug
A tidbit about Amy..
During WWll when she was a young girl..she and her family were put in an internment camp our America herded so many American Japanese families into..as possible 'spies' or loyalists to Japan. This was also a great opportunity to divest many Japanese of their businesses and property. Amy's father was the owner of a large, prosperous fishery and the USA simply relieved him of the family business. Some time after the war..the US government did make some reparation for their disgraceful actions and Amy did get some money out of this, but the family got only got a token of what they lost because of their internment and that confiscation of property.
A
Hello--I'm curious about the segue from the cafe Rienzi to the O.G. Dining Room and what happened to the O.G. and in particular what happened to the recipe for the chocolate chip cookies they used to make; I still dream of them. On good nights.
Hi, Farago,
I have fortuitously connected with someone who used to work at the O.G. and sell those chocolate chip cookies. Since those were after my time, I didn't know about them, but I am hoping the person will post and provide us with some more history about David, the O.G. and the cookies. The individual said that David had brought back some huge baskets from France and had put wheels on them, and an umbrella and this person used to sell the cookies from the basket on one of the Avenues, I believe. It sounded like it was some distance away because he used to bring refills on large trays. Apparently there was an article in New York magazine called "The Chocolate Chip Cookie Wars," at the time - because the cookies were so successful, a lot of other places started to compete.
JuneBug
As a teenage boy in the 60's one of favorite things to do was to go the NYC on a Saturday in the fall or winter, go to the Village, buy a couple of books and go to the Rienzi for a cup of cocoa in the late afternoon.
Hi June bug,
When I was 17 rs old, I lived in the village for about 6 months. This was in 1952. There was a whole bunch of us who used to wander from cafe to cafe, usually ending up in Howard Johnson's because they were open until 5 A.M. I remember Rienzi's very well. I would go there every night, order coffee and talk. Sometimes I would wander from table to table, as did everybody else. We were all looking for something or someone, and we talked art, literature, music, but, as I recall, at least the crowd I was with, or attempted to be with, none of us ever did anything. We were a roving, wandering salon. It was a fascinating experience.
I hung out at Rienzi's in the early 60's, in my twenties. I took my little Olympic typewriter with me and tried to write stories. I was Native American and Latino. I never could get anyone to talk to me and was too shy to approach other people. Later I became a filmmaker and moved to the West Village and stopped going to Rienzis. But to me then, it was the center of the world.
Back in the 60's my best friend, Sandy Wexler, was married to Harry Justman and I worked at Café Rienzi for approximately 1 year. The chef at that time I worked there was a wonderful man by the name of Perry. He did all the cooking and I did all the serving. I also learned how to use the espresso machine. It was, looking back, an amazing time. My name is Janice Frank. During this time, I lived in Sea Gate, Brooklyn which is where I knew Sandy from. She lived directly across the street from me.
Sandy Wexler Justman is my mother. Harry Justman my father. Janice Frank, I have heard your name thru out my childhood!!! My cousin Gloria Loftus introduced my father to the partners. My father was close for many years with Joan and Tom Durant who were part of the group as was David Grossblatt. My father told me many stories about so many soon to be famous people hanging out in the cafe. Everyone from Tiny Tim, Bill Cosby, Peter Paul and Mary etc. I have some great pictures of my parents in Rienzi, but I would love some pictures from others of them in the cafe. If anyone wants to reach out I am at Justwoz@aol.com.
My father Harry Justman, was one of the partners in the Rienzi. he and my mother Sandy Wexler met there in the mid 50's. I have many artistic photos from the Rienzi but would love some different photos from that time. I was born in 61 and have faint recollection of the cafe, and of course have many little stories my father told me. As I get older I am so interested in hearing more and perhaps getting some pictures of my parents in The Rienzi. I remember visiting Joan and Tom Durrant in their home on 14th street and also remember David Grossblatt. Hearing more about my father and his role there would be very meaningful to me. Please reach out at Justwoz@aol.com. Oh, and Janice Frank I remember you!!!!!
Hi June Bug,
My parent Harry Justman and Sandy Wexler met at the Rienzi. My father Harry was one of the partners. He was friends with Joan and Tom Durrant following the close of the cafe. I of course, have vague recollection, but mostly only remember the cafe thru stories I was told as well as some amazing pictures I have. I am very very interested in hearing stories about my father and his presence in the Rienzi from people who knew him. My father passed away in 2002, after a severe stroke that he had suffered 8 years before. He died in St Vincent's. He visited England yearly in his retirement, but did not visit Paris much after the mid 60's. Oh, and Janice Frank, I remember you!!!!!
Hi June Bug,
My parent Harry Justman and Sandy Wexler met at the Rienzi. My father Harry was one of the partners. He was friends with Joan and Tom Durrant following the close of the cafe. I of course, have vague recollection, but mostly only remember the cafe thru stories I was told as well as some amazing pictures I have. I am very very interested in hearing stories about my father and his presence in the Rienzi from people who knew him. My father passed away in 2002, after a severe stroke that he had suffered 8 years before. He died in St Vincent's. He visited England yearly in his retirement, but did not visit Paris much after the mid 60's. Oh, and Janice Frank, I remember you!!!!!
Hi, Nina, thank you so much for posting. I was wondering if you could scan or take photos of some of the pictures that you mention and email them to me sometime. Would love to see them - and to post them, with your permission of course. :) My email addy is jeannewinstead@gmail.com.
Hi....I'm a singer songwriter who grew up for a few years in the Village, in the early-mid sixties.... I hung at Rienzi's every chance I could from the age of 13- 16....we would cut school and go there and get a cup of coffee for 10 cents and rent a chess set for a dollar and kill the mornings till McDougal Street woke up and we went out and hit the streets..!!..
I miss my youth and have never grown up....hangin and bangin in the music business, finally getting it right after 24 years of sobriety, I'm blessed and living n Jacksonville now yearning for the days when Washington Square park was open 24 hours a day and there were no fences..!!.. Thanks for pittiing up this blog....I always wondered who owned Reinzi's..!!.. Here's my website.... don't worry....It's not a commercial site and I give my music away..!!..
Free downloads for all..!!.. Enjoy.... jayjourden.com
Lovely to arrive here accidentally searching for information on the Rienzi.
My name is Ben Austin and my father Avel Austin was also a partner in the Rienzi. He worked there in the 1950s and my parents even had their wedding reception there.
I was born in the 1960s and grew up in Chelsea and have spent much time with Harry Justman and Gloria Loftus. Gloria even lived with my dad for awhile.
Anyway, hello! I can be reached at ben ben austin dot com.
Hi, Ben, it's nice to meet you. Thanks so much for leaving a comment. I wanted to let you know that I keep in touch with Ariel Loftus via Facebook. I will let her know that I heard from you. :)
Hi Folka: Nice to meet you all and hear about Rienzi's and would love to hear more, especially if you have any photos of the cafe and /or the upstairs dancehall space.
My name is Marjorie and I'm right behind this cafe on Minetta. Would you happen to know of any more history of the layout of the space? I'm at marjorieocho at gmail dot com. Look forward to hear from y'all. Thanks
It was our favorite spot in 1964-65 when I was in high school. We would take the train from Westfield NJ. On one memorable evening (remember that I was 17) there was a heavily bearded hipster who was caressing a wrought iron lamp (or something), singing praises to ' this wonderful LSD'. I had no idea what it was and asked a waitress for a pen. I wrote LSD on my hand and went to my local drug store back in NJ to see if they had it. I was told 'no' of course. About one year later (while still legal) I was able to find it in Brooklyn. Wonderful daze!
Cafe Rienzi was headquarters in the mid-sixties for a rather disparate group of folk singers poets, writers, and travelers. The story was that if you sat at one of the tables in the front ( with chess boards on them I recall)anyone you really needed to meet would eventually come in. I was a 17 - 19-year-old frequenter of the local basket houses where I performed, and between sets, I'd hang out at Cafe Rienzi for the companionship. Oh, and I really did frequently meet exactly whom I needed to meet.
Once in a while, my overactive subconscious places me in dreams that take place at Cafe Rienzi when it happens I try to savor every bit of it as I wake up because there is no place in the Village that I miss more than Rienzi.
I ordered my very first espresso at Café Rienzi in 1956.. I was seated in the Student lounge at college (in Brooklyn) when a classmate approached me and asked if I had ever been to a coffee shop in the Village. I had not. We decided to take the subway to W. 4th St. and look for one. We came upon Café Rienzi and went in. We looked over the elongated café menu, and (I may be corrected) the prices began at 25 cents and increased by about 5 cents each line. I didn't want to seem like a tourist 'rube', so I ordered the 2nd café for 30 cents. When we had finished and the waitress came back to our table, I screwed up my courage and asked, "What is the difference between the 1st espresso on the menu, and the 2nd one I ordered (I know, I should have asked that in the 1st place). The waitress added a big smile and said, "the 2nd espresso included the small pitcher of cream that you didn't use".
I worked at rienzis in early 60s while attending NYU then became a frequent client.. loved the atmosphere.. even met my husband there..
I worked at Cafe Rienzi ..not exactly sure but from 65-66…while I was living in the village and attended NYU.. I also met my late husband of 55 years there..The 60s were difficult times but enjoyed my fun moments working there..plus had 55 beautiful years with my husband…
When I was a teenager in the mid-1950s, and an art major at the High School of Music and Art, I would get my homework done, leave my Jane Street Greenwich Village home, and go out Rienzies. I'd meet my fellow Music and Art friend there, Margot Lewitin, and we would talk about our fantasies about our future careers in the arts. At Music and Art I painted a picture of a nun in Greenwich Village and included a sign in the background that begins to spell out Rienzi. I can send you a photo. Jonathan Ned Katz, jnk123@mac.com
My parents met on September 8, 1953 at the Rienzi. As I was told, my father, Miles Karpilow, was helping with some of the construction and at the end of the day he was sitting at the bar when my mother walked in pushing her 18 month old in a stroller. My dad did a double take and despite her having a baby in tow, asked about her. Everyone there knew Shelley - Gloria Loftus was a dear friend of hers - and my dad walked her home that night. four years later my dad moved to SF and a year later my mom came out to join him, he adopted Fern, and I was born in 1960. I don’t get to NYC often, but when I do, I always like to go to Macdougal street and imagine the olden days.
Hello, "anonymous Karpilow" -- I just spoke to my mom (still alive and cogent in her 90's) and she said that she remembers Shelley, and that Shelley lived on 18th St., if it's the same person.
It's been a heavy "Cafe Rienzi news day"! My mom called me this morning because the New York Times carried an obit for Eva Kollisch, who was a key figure in the women's movement and lesbian rights movement.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/20/us/eva-kollisch-dead.html
Eva Kollisch was (like my mom) a Jew who escaped from Europe and was (like my dad) a Trotskyite in the US in the 1930s. The Times' obit also carried a full paragraph on Eva's involvement with the Cafe Rienzi:
"She and Mr. Berliner were among the founders and operators of Cafe Rienzi, a bohemian haunt in a former noodle factory on Macdougal Street in Greenwich Village that was frequented by Allen Ginsberg, James Baldwin, Jack Kerouac and Richard Wright in the early 1950s."
Thought you should know!
- Ben Austin
When I was misspending my youth in the Village in the early 60s, I usually hung out at Cafe Rienzi. Most of my friends from there are no longer with us, but: David Lakomnik cooked, while his retired racing greyhound slept at his feet. Larry Janifer and Chester Anderson (both writers) would play Bach's 2 Part Inventions on keyboard and recorder. Richie Weiner moved to San Francisco and unionized cab drivers. I went back to college in Wisconsin, came back to visit the several Washington Square reunions decades later.
in 60’, found at Rienzi’s sitting at a table near the window. Looking like ahead of the times Goth, I would draw and always people came in to talk to me, usually to pick me up, I was shy and enjoyed the talk. It always felt like home, a refuge, comfort. Living in Brooklyn with my folks, it was my other world. Now I’m 82 am the artist I was meant to be. Wish I had some pics from that time it was my best education!:
https://www.marthahenrickson.com
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