WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JULY 22, 2021 19
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE WAY IT WAS
Two years later, in 1942, Victor
Koenig — who had his own restaurant
and bar at 651 Onderdonk Ave.
in Ridgewood — bought out Happy
Miller’s business and took over the
lease. Koenig enjoyed a fine reputation
for good food, and he quickly
built up a large trade doing business
as Victor Koenig’s Restaurant.
He also put out a large free lunch
at the bar to stimulate business
there.
On Feb. 5, 1943, Henry Sahner
and Tillie Sahner, children of Louis
Sahner, conveyed the property to
themselves from the estate.
In 1944, Victor Koenig sold his
Glendale business to Heinz Durow
from Hamburg, Germany, who
for a period of time continued the
business as Victor Koenig’s Restaurant
before changing the name to
Durow’s. Koenig acquired a restaurant
in Floral Park, Nassau County,
where he built up a following with
his reputation. (That restaurant
wound up closing in 2015.)
While running the Floral Park
restaurant, Koenig also assumed
responsibility of the Elks Lodge on
Queens Boulevard in Elmhurst and
operated a restaurant there.
Unlike Koenig, Heinz Durow was
not a chef. He hired Fritz Schmidtke
to be in charge of his kitchen.
On Oct. 1, 1946, Henry and Tillie
Sahner sold the property to Durow.
After operating the restaurant for 14
years, on March 14, 1958 Durow sold
the restaurant and property to William
Steinbeck. Durow’s changed
hands again 20 years later.
Over the years, the residents of
Queens enjoyed dining and dancing
at Durow’s, whether it was a simple
Friday night dinner with the family
or special occasions such as wedding
receptions.
But the fun times at Durow’s came
to an end in March of 2005. In the
March 3, 2005, issue of the Ridgewood
Times, Bridie Keane, who had
owned Durow’s for 15 years, said
that two obstacles proved too much
to continue operations.
The first was the fact that the restaurant
itself was in need of a major
overhaul. Keane said that there
were “serious structural problems
and countless leaks have caused
buckled floors, dilapidated walls
and possibly even mold infestation.”
“I wanted to keep going for another
two years, but it’s gone,” she told the
Ridgewood Times. “I have to sell it
now.”
Another factor in Durow’s demise
was the business’ cabaret license.
Durow’s had a cabaret license that
had been “grandfathered” in before
certain laws changed. However, the
required renovations would mean
that she would have lost the license,
and then apply for a new one —
another added expense on top of
The exterior of Victor Koenig’s Restaurant in Floral Park. Ridgewood Times archives/Greater Ridgewood Historical Society
Three-family homes on the former site of Durow’s Restaurant in Glendale. Photo via Google Maps
renovating the building.
Keane noted that she had received
offers from individuals to buy the
property, “most of which have come
from developers,” the Ridgewood
Times reported.
“I have a lot of interest,” she told the
Ridgewood Times. “The saving grace
is that the value went up.”
Sure enough, developers wound
up purchasing Durow’s and its adjacent
parking lot — then demolished
them and built multi-family housing
units in its place.
Source: the Aug. 16, 1984, and March
3, 2005, issues of the Ridgewood Times.
* * *
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The Way It Was” that you would
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Times, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY
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