101 Will Be Missed

Dear Editor:

I was saddened to learn of the closing of the 101 Deli. Richie Allen opened it in 1970, and I was a frequent lunch customer in 1973, when I was a lifeguard on Beach 101st Street (as the best swimmer in the shack, I was assigned weekends at Beach 98th Street Playland, but that’s a story for another day). Often, my aunt, who with her family, owned Arbes, a bungalow company that owned bungalows right across Rockaway Beach Boulevard from 101 Deli, would bring me a hero from the deli to my chair on Beach 101st Street. The Arbes bungalow still stands on the corner of Beach 101st Street and RBB. We have used Allen’s, and then 101, for many catering events over the ensuing years. Farewell to a Rockaway staple. They will be missed.

Peter Galvin