Stanley Zabar, 'quiet force' behind NYC institution Zabar's market, dies at 94

Lincoln Anderson, New York Daily News on Nov 10, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

NEW YORK — Stanley Zabar, a principal owner and mainstay of Zabar’s, the world-famous Upper West Side hub of smoked fish, fine food, babka and bagels, has died. He was 94.

Zabar died Monday at his home in the neighborhood, according to The New York Times. His daughter, Dr. Sondra Zabar, said the cause was cancer.

On Tuesday evening, Zabar’s, in a statement posted on social media, said, “Zabar’s is deeply saddened to announce the passing of Stanley Zabar, 94, co-owner of Zabar’s and a quiet force behind our family business.

“Stanley spent decades working with his brother Saul to build upon and carry forward the vision of their parents, Louis and Lillian Zabar. Often working behind the scenes, Stanley’s legal and financial acumen was vital in shaping Zabar’s into a beloved New York City institution.

“A committed philanthropist, Stanley believed in giving back to his city. He and his wife, Judith, dedicated their time and resources to the arts, education, and culinary training, generously supporting Hunter College, the New York Public Library, Symphony Space, NYU Langone Health and the Careers through Culinary Arts Program.

“He will be remembered for the business he helped build, the countless opportunities he created for others and his unwavering dedication to his family and community,” the statement read.

One of three Zabar brothers, Stanley, a lawyer, ran the financial and legal side of the culinary and cultural cornucopia at 80th St. and Broadway. His older brother, Saul, who was the president and face of Zabar’s and ran its operations, died a year ago at age 97. Their longtime partner, Murray Klein, who focused on the store’s pricing and merchandising, predeceased them at 84 in 2007.

“They all worked to their strengths,” Sondra Zabar, a vice president at Zabar’s, told the Times, adding that her father “had a talent for being strategic.”

Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal called Stanley Zabar “a Manhattan icon.”

“I’ve often said I represented the Manhattan district stretching from ‘the gay bars to Zabar’s,’ taking inspiration from Stanley and his storied family business,” he said on X. “Zabar’s is a community institution on the (Upper West Side)… generations of Manhattanites have enjoyed their incomparable lox and bagels.”

City Council Speaker Julie Menin on X wrote: “Thank you, Stanley Zabar, for the bagels, the babka and the sense of belonging you and your family have given Upper West Siders for decades.”

The iconic appetizing and gourmet store was founded in 1934 by the sons’ parents, Louis and Lillian Zabar, in what would become a string of stores along Broadway north of 80th St. before consolidating them into the current one.

After their father died in 1950, Stanley, who would go on to earn a law degree from Brooklyn College, helped run the business with Saul, who had abandoned plans to become a doctor. For years, Stanley maintained a dual career as an attorney in addition to working at Zabar’s.

Eli Zabar, the surviving brother and youngest of the three, struck out on his own on the other side of town, opening several gourmet food markets and bakeries on the Upper East Side.