The following is a NY Post article: This is one Jew who has decided to live high on the hog.
Jason Marcus is opening a restaurant for people who “like bacon with everything” and wish that their “bowls of moules-frites would never end” in the middle of the Orthodox enclave of Williamsburg.
The pork and shellfish eatery located at the foot of the Williamsburg Bridge at 229 S. Fourth St. even has a provocative name — Traif, the Yiddish word for all things non-kosher and unbecoming.
“I figured most people would not know what it meant and be curious,” Marcus, 30, said.
“I love to eat bacon and shellfish,” he said.
The opening of the naughty noshery has riled rabbis in the area. But at least one Hasidic activist, Isaac Abraham, said he was actually happy with the restaurant’s name.
“It’s the red blinking light to not enter,” he said.
The hog haven attracted more than 50 people at its opening night last Tuesday — including a group of Hasidic Jews.
(Source: NY Post)
17 Responses
Who does he expect as customers? Does Williamsbugh have a population of frei Jews? Is this some sort of publicity stunt?
if this shop was in geula, it would have been burned down already.
Yeah, I don’t see this being a sound long-term financial plan.
“The hog haven attracted more than 50 people at its opening night last Tuesday ? including a group of Hasidic Jews.”
I guess they ordered canned soda or Snapple.
The media is giving him free advertisement. How foolish of them.
Restaurants have the highest failure rate of any business. With less than zero reasons for success
this nebech will be losing a bundle in no time.
Pathetic, what ga’ava he has
akuperma, wake up!
Willamsburg has just as many non-jews as chassidim!
When was the last time you were there? Have you not seen the new buildings and thousands of non-jews that have moved in???
#8– The Williamsbug goyim tend to have a different geographical distribution. Furthermore, many of them are real goyim, for whom the word “treff” has no meaning. Taken at face value, the story suggest he is appealing only to non-frum Jews (Hispanics, for example, don’t attach any meaning to the word “treiff”). Furthermore, even non-frum Jews aren’t attracted to “treiff” (they call it something else).
This suggests a publicity stunt.
Hey Jason,
Who are you angry at?
Looks like most of you aren’t at all familiar with the up and coming North side of Williamsburg – a thriving hipster community. And this restaurant is physically located closer to that community than to the chassidishe area. He’s just having fun teasing the frum jews living just a few blocks away but he knows he’s not catering to that crowd.
I do not believe the media hype that there were 50 hassidic jews at the opening. Phony! Where are the pictures? There might have been a few yeshiva dropouts who are up to there nose in filth already anyway and were looking to kill there day. That’s it folks.
re 9 and akuperma – see comment 11: if there’s anything the hipsters do well it’s irony and they know full well what this is all about.
Sure it’s tasteless (pardon pun), but not incendiary IMO.
Gee – a treif restaurant opening in an American City – how unusual – how horrible. This must be Obama or the Liberals at work again. Rabbi Amichai, shlita, (see comment #2)has got it right. Self-respecting Jews should burn it down; Any less action would be to countenance a free society in galus, and surely such a thing is totally anti-Torah.
There have been many non kosher eateries in Williamsburgh for decades, under the tracks especially.
Perhaps the kehilla is afraid it will attract the kids at risk and that is the underlying issue.
But before mixing into other peoples business maybe they start behaving like adults and clean up the machlokes burning strong in Williamsburg.
By the way, who are the Rabbis that are complaining.
Why wasn’t such a fuss made when we became aware of non kosher l’Pesach cocoa. Is it always the who that is the matter. If the who is a who-whoo it gets washed away and if we don’t know the who it becomes an issue.
Let’s refocus on the kashrus some of us rely on and who knows how kosher it really is not.
This Jason Marcus has an axe to grind and the rest of you bloggers a very, very immature sense of humor.
Lia, For you information Williamsburg doesn’s have the monopoly or the superiority in machlokes anymore for a while now. We all know a number of other chassidish areas that are plagued with bigotry and empty feuds. In fact a couple of chassidus who used to balk at williamsburg machlokes are pretty worse off themselves now.
Not that I’m endorsing any type of machlokes. They’re all horrible and keep moshiach from redeeming us all. But by all means stop stereotyping.
I thought it was hilarious.
And Williamsburgh is full of young Yuppy goyim for all those who who walk around looking at their shoes.