QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, November 16, 2023 Page 24 For the latest news EDITION visit qchron.com 45TH ANNIVERSARY • 2023
45th Anniversary Edition
Jahn’s: history & the Kitchen Sink
Jackson Heights ice cream parlor, restaurant has 1890s roots by Michael Gannon Senior News Editor
If you grew up in Queens in the 1970s or 1980s, it wouldn’t have been uncommon to go on a first date or celebrate a birthday or a win in a youth baseball or soccer game at Jahn’s, where ice cream concoctions and hamburgers were two of the four major food groups. Founded in the Bronx by John Jahn 1897, the shop eventually had locations in Jamaica, Richmond Hill, Jackson Heights, Flushing and Forest Hills. It also had four sites in Brooklyn, and more in the Fordham section of the Bronx, Nassau and Suffolk counties, and two each in New Jersey and Florida. Nick and Peter Moukas own the last one, located at 81-04 37 Ave. in Jackson Heights. And they are as aware of the tradition they are upholding as any of their customers. “My father, Tom, bought it in 1970,” Nick Moukas said. “He had been working here since 1960. This was a franchise. It was never one of the restaurants owned by the Jahn family.” Say Jahn’s to anyone above a certain age and they think ice cream. Think Jahn’s ice cream and thoughts go immediately to one thing — the famous Kitchen Sink sundae. As ever, the menu says it serves eight — think the starting lineup for the New York Rangers, and you’re still two people short. The recipe, Moukas said, is mostly simple. “Take a scoop of just about every flavor ice cream,” he said. “Except mint — we don’t use mint unless you ask for it, because once mint ice cream starts to melt everything tastes like mint. Add just about every topping and you have a Kitchen Sink.” Moukas acknowledges, with a smile and
Nick Moukas, who owns Jahn’s with his brother, Peter, shows off family history and Queens hisPHOTO BY MICHAEL GANNON tory, including the restaurant’s traditionally ornate chandeliers.
a hint of possible trade secrets, that it is not demographic changes since Tom Moukas exactly that simple. But a new employee first strapped on an apron nearly 64 years wouldn’t really require a security clearance go. His son said the restaurant hasn’t adoptto make a Kitchen Sink. ed much of the ethnic cuisine that has been “Either my brother or I are usually here,” booming in the neighborhood, though as he said. “One of us will usually with any business, there have make it.” been some changes. SWEET And on a dessert menu with the “My father did add things to Kitchen Sink and other considerthe menu that made it more of a DREAMS ably smaller confectionery crediner, along with the traditional ations, he does have a personal Jahn’s menu.” favorite. Breakfast, wraps and sand“The Chocolate Pecan Shortwiches for just about any palate ie,” he said. “Chocolate ice cream, are available along with the longhot fudge, whipped cream, chocolate sprintime favorite burgers and entrees. kles and pecans,” he said. In November 2007, the Chronicle wrote Jackson Heights has undergone massive about the closure of the Richmond Hill Jahn’s at 117-03 Hillside Ave. “Although it had been open since the 1930s, its nickelodeon piano, brass and copper soda fountains and many of its light fixtures and antiques dated back to the early 1900s,” Joseph Wendelken reported. “Former South Queens residents came from as far as New Jersey and Florida to eat there. Aside from ice cream, Jahn’s featured sandwiches and other food. “According to Nancy Cataldi, president of the Richmond Hill Historical Society, the light fixtures and many other valuable Jahn’s antiques were sold to a bidder in the Midwest. The sweet shop’s stained-glass windows were also sold ... Many always knew that Jahn’s was the place to be on your birthday, where you got a free ice cream sundae. “In years past, teenagers piled into the eatery after taking in movies at RKO Keith’s in Richmond Hill next door. Diners often carved their initials or the initials of a sweetheart into Jahn’s wooden booths and Jahn’s on Hillside Avenue in Richmond Hill was a popular stop before or after taking in a movie tables.” NYC PHOTO COURTESY MICHAEL PERLMAN at the RKO Keith’s Theater.
And while the younger crowd or new visitors may just think of it as a nice restaurant, Moukas said people still are aware of the history behind the name on the traditional red awning out front, the distinctive chandeliers, the Kitchen Sinks and the interior woodwork. “Some of our employees have been here 20 years,” he said. “They know our customers, our regulars. Some of our customers are third-generation — they bring their children and grandchildren.” It is something in which Moukas takes immense pride. “About seven years go, there was a couple sitting in a booth,” he said. “The called me over and asked if I was the owner.’ Originally from the city, the couple lived upstate. “They said it was their 50th anniversary,” Moukas said. “He asked how she wanted to celebrate. Their first date was at a Jahn’s in Brooklyn. She said she wanted to go to Jahn’s, and they Googled us. “They even ordered the same things they had on their first date.” More recently a Queens native and Little League baseball player who relocated to Denver, but brought his love of baseball with him, was back in the World’s Borough with a Little League team from his adopted state that was on a trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame in upstate Cooperstown. “He told me that as soon as they landed at LaGuardia, he wanted to bring the team to Jahn’s,” Moukas said. “Because that’s what his coaches always did.” Author’s note: So did the coaches in LevQ ittown, LI.
The doors at 81-04 37 Ave. open up on great food, legendary ice cream and a little bit of PHOTO BY MICHAEL GANNON Queens history.
