How the manager of a gourmet grocery store spends his Sundays
Scott Goldshine was a picky eater with a very short list of favorite foods.
“Until high school it was cake, scrambled eggs, cheeseburgers, fries and a little fried rice,” he said. The reasons for its special taste were difficult to determine.
“My parents took me to a psychologist, who was the first to make me eat a hot dog and a slice of pizza,” he said. And his unique preferences persisted beyond adolescence: He didn't eat cold foods until he was about 40 years old.
All this is especially surprising when you consider that Mr. Goldshine, 63, has worked at the Upper West Side supermarket Zabar's — an emporium of Jewish and international culinary delights — for 46 years. He started as a garbage collector at the age of seventeen and worked his way up to general manager.
Spending time with the diverse offerings at Zabar's eventually taught Mr. Goldshine to try new things. Now he enjoys the deli's corned beef, pastrami sandwiches, prosciutto, knishes, chopped liver and Ibérico ham.
“If my father were alive today, he would be amazed at how far we have come,” he said.
Sunday is a workday for Mr. Goldshine, who was born in the Bronx and lives on the Upper West Side with his wife, Jackie Goldshine, 61.
EYES OPEN When I open my eyes it's: “Oh, [expletive]! I really don't feel like going in today.” This is how Sunday usually starts. Years ago I made a deal with myself that if I let work get in the way of going out and listening to music, I will never hear music again in my life. I could be out until 5am and still get up at 7:30 to get ready for work.
ALWAYS ON My phone is on my bedside table. It is on 24 hours a day. So I'm used to getting calls and texts at 2, 3, 4 in the morning when there's a problem. Either an employee is sick, or he's been arrested, or it's a tragedy, or one of my musician friends has a problem. So I check to make sure there isn't a message I need to deal with immediately.
ON TIPONS AROUND Assuming none of that is the case, I drag myself out of bed. I try to tiptoe around the apartment. I don't like waking my wife. Sometimes I make it and she doesn't wake up, but often as I'm walking out the door I hear, “Where's my kiss?”
OZEMPIAN BABY I'm not a breakfast person. I love breakfast when I'm on vacation. For me, breakfast means: when I enter the store, I grab a muffin if I'm hungry. But my weight situation has changed over the years. I used to be very, very heavy. I have lost over 100 kilos. I was one of the first Ozempic babies before anyone knew what it was. And I'm happy to admit it. Food had always been a very big problem for me.
EIGHT BLOCKS, FIVE MINUTES Luckily I can walk to work, so I can leave five minutes before I have to be inside. It's eight blocks, but in a way I wish it was longer. Going to work is usually a mixture of calm and anxiety because I'm always worried. I listen to music or Howard Stern. Even though it's only a 10 minute walk, it keeps me on track when I get there.
You'd be wrong When I walk in, I immediately walk to the manager's desk and speak with the opening manager of the day. You might think that nothing happens between 5:30 PM and 9:00 AM, but you'd be wrong. Sometimes there are no problems. But sometimes the cooling fails. The bread deliveries did not show up on time. Half of the meat department had not yet arrived. The cutting machine is broken. A lot of things could happen, but I'm not going anywhere until we're done talking.
THE STROLL I start walking around the store, stopping at each department – from the café to the warehouse, the cheese department, the kitchen, the fish – and speak to whoever is in charge at the time, see if they have . problems, check if everything is fine. Sometimes it's a short walk. Sometimes it's a long walk.
A PIECE There is a balcony where I have a few desks. I have cameras there so I can see what's going on. That's where I do a lot of my paperwork. It is actually located above the sales floor. I think it's very, very, very important to be down there. I have a rule: when it's busy, I lie on the floor. When it's not busy, I do my paperwork. I actually don't even eat lunch anymore. One piece of rugelach can keep me going for hours.
WHERE IS SCOTT? Saul Zabar is 95 and still visits every day. He's not really doing anything at the moment. We'll send the van to pick him up, and he has a helper. He sits in the front or he walks around and shops. I'm the first person he looks for when he comes in. If he doesn't see me, he says, 'Where's Scott? Where's Scott? When I'm standing on the balcony, I suddenly hear footsteps and I think: 'You don't have to come up here.' He's 95. He doesn't have to climb stairs.
EVERYONE IS CARE OF It's never dead, but eventually it slows down somewhat. There is a mini dinner rush that starts at about 4:30 PM and on Sundays can last until 5:30 PM, quarter 6. Since it is Sunday and the closing time is 6:00 PM, there are always people in the store. We still need to make sure everyone is taken care of. As long as you are in the store before we lock the door, there is nothing to worry about. It's usually me and three other store managers, so we're the last people to leave the store every night, no matter what. We are usually outside between 7:00 PM and 7:30 PM.
SCHOOL IS IN SESSION Sometimes my wife and I go out to eat. I've been known to take out my guys, my front-end managers, my deli manager, and a few other people. I taught them about great corned beef and pastrami. Not that ours isn't good, but it's not the same as when you go to, say, Katz's, where it's warm and incredible.
COCKTAIL FRANKEN Normally I go home and have dinner with my wife. There's usually a summary when I get home. But on this Sunday I'm watching the Super Bowl. I'm at work until about 6:25 and then I'm like, “Guys, you're on your own.” I run home. For my favorite Super Bowl dinner, I get Zabar's. We have these little mini cocktail franks. So my wife will cook that. Put a bowl next to me on the couch full of those little hot dogs. I love Nathan's fries more than anything. So she makes a whole bowl of Nathan's fries. I'll have my hot dogs. I'll have my fries. And I am extremely happy.
I'M LUCKY My wife sometimes falls asleep on the couch. Then, around midnight, I go to the other room where I have the computer and start watching music or reading. If I can get her up, I pick her up and drag her to bed. My bedtime is usually around 2am. I'm lucky I don't need much sleep.